Breaking The Habit
by Anti Darth Ani
Summary: [Ginny-Draco] She wanted everything a teenager could have. She wanted more than Dean Thomas could give her. She wanted the way HE looked at her. She didn't expect things to end up in such a mess as they always did with HIM...
1. Memories Consume

Breaking The Habit

By: Anti Darth Ani

Chapter One: Memories Consume

Author's Notes:

Well, let's start with the obvious and work our way out from there, beginning with the status of this fan-fic. This fic just happens to be my first Draco/Ginny fan-fic, so be gentle with me. And let me tell you from the get go that I absolutely **love** reviews, so don't be greedy with them. Throw them out at me three or four at a time and let me know how much you love (or hate... but hate is such a strong word) this little (well, not so little) fan-fic of mine. It's already written many of the chapters, so the more you review, the faster I edit and upload my new chapters...

I don't know if you can classify this as a song fan-fic, but the title comes from the Linkin Park song 'Breaking the Habit' on their Meteora CD. And all the titles for the chapters come from lines in the song. I think that's pretty cool the way that works out...

Second, I need to discuss the setup of the style of this fan-fic. This entire fan-fic switches in between what is happening now and flashbacks. There is a little indicator between each switch, but during some chapters, I have three or four different time frames running, so it might be a little confusing. I've decided to write in -_italics_- which time frame it is. Once you get the outline of my fan-fic, you'll be able to tell even without them, but for now I think it's a good idea. I sure hope I don't confuse you too much... Also, the different time frames are in chronological order, so at least I'm nice about that part...

-_present_-

"Where is he?" she demanded, trying to push past all the nameless faces and figures. All the different house colors blended so well together in the madness, the frenzy they pushed her into. All she needed to do was find him. If only he would turn around and glare at her, she would know he was safe at least. They wouldn't let her through. Heavy barriers between her and her final destination, all she wanted to do was shove them all away, force her way through the crowd to the center of attention. Why wouldn't they tell her what happened?

Ron wanted to protect her, he protested while grabbing onto her arm and pulling her in the opposite direction of him. She clawed into his arm, but his grip tended to increase when she tried to escape from his grasp. Why did everyone try to keep her away from him? Her stomach fell at the idea of him being badly hurt. She shook her head furiously, telling herself that wasn't the case. If it was, Ron would be pushing her towards him, showing her how weak he was.

"Stop," she screamed, digging her heals into the concrete floor. "Ron, you're hurting my arm! Let go of me **now**!" she demanded, finally managing to yank her arm away from his grabbing hand. "You can't do this! I have to see him. Now!"

Ron just shook his head when she turned back around to try, once again, to shove her way through. When she smacked away his hand reaching towards her, Ron proceeded by picking her up off her feet from behind, dragging her kicking and screaming in the opposite direction.

-_past-Dean_-

"Do we really need to talk about this right now?" she grinned, clearly embarrassed, tucking her toes under the throw pillow at the end of the couch, next to Dean Thomas's head. He glanced from her toes to her head, pulling the blanket up to cover her bare feet.

"Yes, I think it's a very important issue that needs to be brought up before I talk to Ron again," Dean informed her, looking her straight in the eyes. "Things between us have become... _serious_ Ginny. I want to know where this relationship leads up to before I start defending it against Ron again."

Ginny rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, but she was smiling. "When did you become the one to start worrying over our relationship?" she teased, poking her head over the top of the trashy magazine she read with little interest.

"Since your brother started stalking me in the halls, Gin," he responded with equal ease. "Ron isn't going to ease off of us until I sit down with him and explain our relationship to him. And I can't do that until you explain it to me."

"Dean, Ron won't stop bothering you until we split up." Ginny smiled before disappearing back behind her magazine. "Just let me handle Ron, okay? Being the only girl in the family, I know how to handle my brothers."

Dean nodded and then leaned across the length of the couch, snatching her magazine out of her hand, tossing it over the back of the couch. Ginny raised her eyebrows at her boyfriend, resting on her elbows. He crawled across her legs and pressed his mouth against hers urgently. Ginny sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck and sinking down into the comfy couch in front of the fire in the common room.

-_present_-

Ron forced a mug of hot chocolate into Ginny's hand. She pulled the blanket closer around her body with a shaking hand. She brought the mug up to her lips, but she couldn't force them to part. Groaning, she set the mug down on the end table and stared straight into the roaring flames in front of her. "What's wrong with him?" she whispered, afraid if she spoke too loud, it would hurt him even more.

Ron ran his hand over the back of his little sister's hair. For the first time in his life, he saw the fear in her eyes and the anger in her voice. Yes, she'd never forgive him for getting them apart, but maybe one day at least she could understand. Sixteen was too young to hear what he needed to tell her. In a few years, he'd sit down with her and explain everything to her. But not now.

"You should get some sleep," he commented lightly, dodging the question for as long as possible. He continued to rub her head before wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. All the recent events really had taken all her energy away. Pure shock coursed through her entire system, begging to be realized. Yet her mind froze with fear of what she wouldn't admit.

_Sleep_... Ginny scuffed at the idea of sleep. _Right..._ like she would be able to sleep now, of all times. What she wanted, needed, was to feel his arms around her again, at least once, and to have his lips on her neck. Right it that spot he loved, although he would never admit it to her. He never admitted anything to her. He kept his entire life a secret from her. _What do we really have?_ Ginny asked herself several times throughout the year, but the answers never came to her.

"You'll never accept it - us," she corrected herself slowly, "will you?" Ron always pushed himself to protect her, more than any of her other brothers. Even when she didn't want to be protected. _It's for your own good_, he always told her while he forced her to do something against her own will. This time had been different - she'd found her way around his grip, his force that held her back from her wants. She'd screwed up, he yelled at her over and over again, but this time it didn't matter to her. Or it hadn't until _he_ went and got himself hurt.

"You crossed enemy lines, Gin. You know how hard I tried to prevent this from happening to you. I only wanted to help you and yet you had to be your usual stubborn self," Ron told her in the nicest way he could muster up.

Ginny shook her head, shrugging his arm off of her shoulders, "You're avoiding the questions again, Ron." She paused, looking through watered eyes at the fireplace. "I can't be around you when you act like this." With that, Ginny stood on her own two feet and walked up to the girls' dormitories, leaving her brother, her protector, sitting on the couch in confusion.

-_past-Dean_-

"Ohhhh..." Ginny gasped, gripping his hair harder with her hand. Dean grinned against her jaw, where he kissed a trail down to her neck. "Dean..." she begged, rubbing her body against his, causing him to grunt. He pressed her hips down into the couch, trying to still her movements while he continued.

Ginny surrendered, ceasing all motion. She let Dean snog her silly, like he usually did. _So selfish..._ Ginny thought to herself, letting her eyes flutter open, even though he wasn't even close to being done. Releasing his hair, she propped her head up a little on one arm while she rested her other hand on her thin stomach, waiting for him to finish. Sure, she enjoyed it, but never as much as Dean. Must of the time, she just laid back and let him have his way while she thought about what she was going to wear for classes the next day.

"I love you," he whispered against her neck. Ginny's stomach fell to the floor. She hated when he did that - told her he loved her while he forced her to hold still for him. All of the times he whispered it to her, she's never once been able to answer him back. Maybe because it ruined the realization of telling him, or maybe she didn't love him back. She hoped it was the first reason, but deep down, she knew it had become the second in the past few months. She needed more than he could ever give her - mostly because he only really cared about himself.


	2. Opening The Wound

Breaking The Habit

By: Anti Darth Ani

Chapter Two: Opening The Wound

Author's Note:

Just wanted to clear things up before I start the second chapter. A lot of you reviewers wanted to know who the person Ginny is looking for in the present is. You're not supposed to know yet, you guys, sorry. Dodges tomatoes people are throwing at her Hey, don't worry!!!! You'll get more of an idea in the following chapters and you will find out soon enough. It's all coming in due time!!!!! I **love** all your wonderful reviews!!!! This chapter is for all of you! (And I love my readers that don't review as well!)

-_past-Draco_-

She held her books close to her chest, afraid of dropping them and then having to pick them up while being run over by the hundreds of Hogwarts students hurrying off to their afternoon classes. No, she'd be better holding them near her to prevent the embarrassment that always seemed to find her. Might as well make it a little harder to hurt her feelings this time around.

Walking down the mostly empty hallway now to the Astrology tower for class, Ginny thought about everything happening to her lately. First, she couldn't seem to get _him_ off of her mind anymore. He always hid right there, in the back of her mind, those eyes staring right into hers, daring for her to turn away. Yet she never could. Those eyes had her transfixed, hypnotized to that look he gave her when he knew no one else would notice. That's the only time he ever dared - when no one else was around to see.

An arm reached out from an empty classroom, snatching her wrist and yanking her roughly into the room, shutting the door with his foot while he pressed her back up against the hard wall. She dropped her books, disregarded, to the floor like she always did when he managed to catch her alone. Just thinking about him always seemed to make him appear in front of her.

His hands automatically reached for the back of her upper thighs, lifting her slightly up off the floor. She quickly wrapped her legs around his waist, forcing him even closer to her until she finally caught the wonderful scent of his hair. He rested his forehead against hers for a moment while he pinned her more effectively to the wall. She managed to drape her arms around his neck. "Hey," she whispered right before he captured her mouth with his in a fiery, openmouthed kiss.

He kissed her liked no one else ever could. The raw power his mouth contained always sent her straight for the edge, but she had yet to reach it. They also got interrupted. Or else he would abruptly stop and calmly walk off after straightening his tie. He never allowed her to run her hands through his gorgeous hair. He didn't want her to mess it up before his classes. Neither one of them wanted their friends to know. Or anybody else for that matter. It was a secret they'd been keeping for the past two weeks, and they were very good at it.

He never spoke to her. Never. Ever since the first time he had kissed her, words seemed so wrong. She didn't bother trying to get him to answer her anymore. Words weren't enough for them - they never had been. Everything seemed useless except his mouth.

He found the spot quicker than usual today. He ran his tongue over it slowly, causing chills to shoot up her spine before he bite playfully at it. She arched her back off of the wall to press her body flush against his, holding onto his neck to steady herself. "Ohhhh..." she chocked out. "Oh God, Dra-" his mouth found hers again before she could let his name slip from between her lips.

She became too careless lately. Just the night before, she and Dean engaged in a little snog on the overstuffed arm chair in the dark corner of the common room. Instead of calling out his name is pleasure, she almost let _his_ slip. Never again would she be so foolish. If Dean found out, surely he'd go straight to Ron, who would kill her.

His tongue pulled back out of her mouth and he began to pull away, like always. But for once, she didn't want to give him up yet. "Don't stop," she whispered and his eyes automatically locked onto hers. It was the first command she had ever given him. Mostly because he scared her to death. But for once, she didn't want him to control everything between them. Her legs slid down a little on his body while she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck and pulled him even closer to her. "Don't ever stop," she whispered against his ear.

For the first time ever, he didn't send her a glare when she clung to his hair while he pressed her back up against the wall.

-_present_-

"Ginny?" a feminine voice called from the bedroom door. She wiped the tears away from her eyes, quickly before the door opened. She could still feel the taste of his lips on hers when she opened her eyes and saw Hermione's bushy head poking through the doorway. _Stop thinking about him_, she told herself, trying to grin at her worried friend at the door. _You're only making it worse. He's fine._ Hermione slipped into the dormitory and shut the door quietly behind her. _Nothing's wrong with him. Ron's just wants to keep us apart right now while he tries to figure out how he missed it._ "Are you okay, Ginny?" Hermione asked, sitting down next to her on the edge of the bed.

Ginny nodded, leaning her head slightly against her hand. Her forehead felt like it was on fire and yet the rest of her body froze to the touch. Something was definitely wrong with her and it steadily got worst. She stomach clenched to itself and nausea passed over her in waves. What she needed was a good, long night's worth of sleep. Skip classes for the day and just lay down, reassure herself that he, indeed, would pull through with whatever he struggled with at the moment. If only they would let her see him - talk to him. Ginny rolled her eyes at herself. Like he would want to talk to her, of all people.

"You don't look so good," Hermione commented lightly, resting the palm of her hand against Ginny's forehead like Mrs. Weasley had before Ginny started Hogwarts and insisted she was too old for this. Ginny pulled away from her friend's hand. "I feel fine," she lied. She didn't want Hermione treating her like a five year old. She handled her problems by herself, always had. She wouldn't change her ways now, of all times. Not when she needed most to just be alone.

"I think I'm going to try to sleep for a little while," she told Hermione sternly, Hermione's cue to get out, which Hermione totally understood. She nodded and slipped out of the bedroom as quietly as she entered. Ginny sighed and fell back against the pillows on her bed, closing her eyes and let out a small groan. Why was life always so complicated? Sleep was the remedy for everything, she decided as she crawled under her comforter and fluffed her pillow before closing her eyes and falling into an uneasy sleep.

-_past-Draco_-

"Fuck me," Ginny whispered against his ear. She knew he tried to restrain it, but a small moan escaped from between his lips. "I mean really, really fuck me," she murmured, brushing her lips against the outer lobe of his ear while he pulled her robes off of her. His hands ran up her arms, causing her to shiver slightly in anticipation. "Make me scream," she taunted him as his hands found hers, pushing them hard into the mattress by her head.

Regardless of Dean, she couldn't help but get caught up in the way he had the power to manipulate her body. She could go from dreading the double Potions class she had after lunch to forgetting she even had any more classes while he had his way with her. She told herself that sex wouldn't become something important for her until after she found and married the perfect guy for her.

The irony hit her hard and Draco ran his tongue over her nipple. _Right..._ she thought to herself. That didn't happen exactly like she planned. Sex became a very important something to her during her sixth year at Hogwarts and she blamed it all on _him_. Because he held powers of her body no one else did - or ever could, she feared.

"Say it again," he commanded while he attacked her neck, biting slowly here and sucking painfully there. Ginny moaned, feeling how ready she already was and knowing he was just getting started. "Fuck me, Draco," she said a little louder this time. "Hard," she added and then smirked when his hand released hers to travel down to explore the rest of her body.

"Naughty...little...Weasley..." he grunted, talking more to himself than to Ginny. The naughty part made Ginny rest her hands on his shoulders. Her legs began to wrap around his waist and she knew in less than a minute she would be spent. She was already ready to come and he hadn't even done anything to her yet.

Ginny closed her eyes when she felt him against her entrance. Usually, he just did it quickly before she could say a word. But this time he waited, resting his forehead against hers. "Open your eyes," he softly told her and Ginny knew better than to disobey him.

As soon as her eyes saw his, he plunged into her. Amazingly, it didn't hurt anymore. At first, Ginny didn't feel anything, but when he pulled out and plunged back in, over and over again and at sickening speed, feelings came out of nowhere, overwhelming her. Her body pressed up against his and he, in return, pressed her harder into the mattress. She always came first - another one of the many powers Draco Malfoy held over her. His mouth found hers again as she came, trying to keep other Slytherins from hearing. The last thing a Malfoy wanted known was that he was fucking a Weasley.

Ginny's entire body collapsed under him, her eyes opening again after her orgasm, only to see Draco still staring down at her. "Mmm..." Ginny moaned, brushing back his sweaty bangs out of his face. "Fuck me again," she whispered and then grinned when he smirked at her request.

Ginny knew that every part of her body would be sore the next day.

-_past-post Draco_-

Ginny rolled over in her bed, gripping the sheets under her skin tightly. The pain in her stomach hurt like hell. A week had passed since the last time she felt any sharp twinges such as this one, but now they came back three fold. She shut her eyes closed even harder, squeezing until she thought she would blackout. _It can't happen again. I won't let it._ Just the thought brought the accompanying pain on her arm.

Gasping, Ginny sat up straight in her bed, pulling her burning arm up to her chest and clutching it against her body. _Make it stop_, she begged to herself. _Please make it stop_. Silent tears fell down her cheeks, but she refused to call for help. What caused this reaction in her skin? Looking down at her arm, she groaned when she saw the redness of the skin.

Suddenly, she let out a shrill scream when she felt something slice against her skin. Slowly and painfully, the skin tore itself apart from her arm, beginning to bleed profusely. Sucking in a breath of air at the sight of her own blood, Ginny scrambled out of the bed, snatching up her wand and pointing it at her arm. She hesitated, her wand tip only an inch away from the cut. Spells with her hand-me-down wand never really worked exactly like she planned. Did she really want to risk it now?

The pain told her yes, so she carefully muttered a simple spell under her breath. Automatically, the bleeding stop. A tingling feeling ran up her arm to her neck. Before she had time to relax, the cut burst back open, bleeding even worse than the time before it. Ginny dropped her wand to the floor and screamed.


	3. Picking Me Apart

**Breaking The Habit**

By: Anti Darth Ani

Chapter Three: Picking Me Apart

Hehehe... I feel **so** evil... Thank you to everyone who read and/or reviewed my last chapter. I'm so glad everyone (well, almost everyone) loves my little fan-fic :P And I'm so glad no one knows what happened to Ginny's arm (and that everyone actually **cares** too). Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough...

So read on and review at the end, if you have a few seconds to spare. Love to all, Anti Darth Ani.

-_past-post Draco_-

"Hey," he whispered, glancing around for her friends and brother before he slipped his arms around her waist from behind and rested his head on her shoulder. "How's the best Quidditch player in the school?" he asked quickly, kissing her neck.

Ginny shrugged. She didn't know how Harry was because he and Hermione were too busy in the broom closet to really talk to her anymore. She leaned back into his body, thankful for the support his own body offered her. Everything would be better once the game ended, she told herself. Yet, from the way Draco kept sending his icy stares at her from across the lawn, Ginny wasn't reassured. Everything between them was so different lately. Ever since she touched him _there_ - on the mark she refused to let herself acknowledge was really there. _After all, Draco's much to young to be a Death Eater. His father must have pushed him into it_, she repeated over and over to herself. Finally, she almost convinced herself. Until he gave her that look. The look that told her she didn't know a single thing about him.

"I need to go," she told Dean quickly, pulling away from his grip to turn around and look at him. "I need to, uh... scoop out the competition. I heard Malfoy got a new racing broom for his birthday. Need to make sure he doesn't cheat..." Ginny rambled until Dean nodded, pulling her back to him for a quick kiss. All she wanted to do was to get away from him. For him to turn around and walk away so she could approach Draco, who raised an eyebrow at her while he leaned against the brick wall, arms crossed over his chest, with that evil smirk of his plastered on his face. She'd show him today...

Thankfully, Dean turned around and immediately spotted Neville Longbottom. He shouted out at Neville, which caused the poor fool to turn around and trip on his long robes. Dean grimaced and shrugged at Ginny, who gave him a weak grin. Dean waved halfway before dashing across the yard to help his roommate pick up his books.

Ginny waited until Dean cleared out of her view. Then she turned around and wasn't at all surprised to realize that Draco was no where to be seen. Sighing, Ginny walked over to the Quidditch field, where she knew he would be hiding, waiting for her.  
Walking through the dark hallway that led to the stairs to the stands and then the different houses' locker rooms, Ginny shivered slightly and winced at a reminder of the cut of her arm. She definitely needed to discuss that with Draco.

"Dra-" she started to whisper, but a hand slid around her mouth from behind and he pulled her into the Ravenclaw locker room. He immediately pressed her back up against the closed door, his leg cleverly forcing her skirt to hitch up in the middle. Ginny groaned against his mouth while his tongue dashed into hers to play. Her fingers inched up his arm until it reached that touchy spot on his arm. He ripped himself away from her, but this time she managed to cling to his arm.

He pushed her back against the wall, but all the lust in his eyes disappeared and anger replaced it. Her warning to let go of his arm and leave. Ginny slowly shook her head, which he couldn't even notice. "What did you do to me?" she asked in a voice barely above a whisper. "Why does my arm burn every time I sleep?" She paused and let the last part out with a little whimper, "Why do I have a Death Eater mark on my arm that matches yours?"

Draco's eyes darted to her arm. Since he pinned her hands against the wall next to her head, the sleeves of her robes fell down to her elbows. Showing brightly even in the dark room, the mangled and twisted flesh stared right back at Draco's cold eyes. "How did this happen?" Ginny asked, not able to hold her panic back any longer. "If my parents see this, they'll kill me..."

Draco's eyes traveled back to his own body, concentrating on the part of his robes that covered his own mark. Ginny wanted for him to explain. Wanted for him to tell her it would be gone in the next week, that this happened to him before. But Draco Malfoy didn't do anything except stare at her arm in awe. Ginny knew the wheels in his head were spinning out of control while he thought, but none of this brought her any comfort. "Say _something_!" she hissed, her back hurting against the wall.

He slowly released her hands and took a step away from her. His eyes flickered quickly with an emotion Ginny had never seen before. He pulled her away from the wall and silently opened the door behind her, stepping back out into the day. Ginny followed right on his heels, not satisfied yet. She snatched his wrist before he could get too far ahead of her and into public view. "Tell me something, Malfoy!" she almost yelled.

Draco spun around to face her, stepping closer to her until she could feel his breath on her face. The beat of her heart increased quickly, but she refused to be intimidated. "I don't know how it happened!" he snapped in one of the longest sentence he ever said to her. And with that, he yanked his arm away from her and turned on his heels, his robes billowing behind him and he walked away.

_-past-Dean_-

Ginny lay on the couch, completely spent. She felt Dean's breathing against her hair, his arms around her waist, his legs entangled with hers. She watched the fire crackle in agreement while she propped her head on her arm. Life got so complicated sometimes, but with Dean asleep behind her, things felt right. _Then why don't I feel as if I love him?_ she asked herself, shifting slowly on the small couch. _Why do I feel used and ready to move on?_ she wondered, watching the fire dance in place.

Dean wasn't the safe guy Ron wanted her to date. Sure, he wasn't as bad as Michael, but he loved to push her to her limits. He pressured her to have sex with him, even though she told him it didn't feel right. She wasn't going to waste her virginity on Dean Thomas, the soccer obsessed, Harry Potter roommate. Not when he was so selfish with everything else in their relationship.

She knew one thing - she wanted to be in control during sex. Ginny was sixteen, after all, and had six older brothers. She knew a thing or two about sex and she didn't want to have to sit back and let some teenage guy full of hormones ride her until he released. No, she wanted everything just right. She wasn't one to take it sitting. She wouldn't let someone else control her life anymore. Fred, George, Bill, Charley, Percy, Ron - that's all they ever did (besides test their newest creations on her and her friends). Ginny, now sixteen, wasn't a little red-headed Weasley anymore. She would control her own fate, her own future, now matter how long it took her to reach it.

-_present_-

Ginny woke up to the chirping of the birds. Light littered the room in random intervals, the sun coming out to play with her comforter, where little flowers swayed around in a gentle, yet unreal, breeze. She knew she owed Hermione an explanation for the day before - for being so distant and cold. Stretching out, the new day began to fill the beautiful red-head with new hope. Maybe during lunch, she'd disappear from her table in the Great Hall and sneak down to the hospital wing to see if he was there. Then she would finally be able to see what was wrong with him and make herself calmer on the instead and out.

Sitting up, Ginny pushed back her covers, let her feet hit the wooden floor of the dormitory and stood up slowly. It stared back at her when she glanced down at her arm while changing. Ginny sighed, thinking maybe tomorrow it would suddenly vanish. Pulling the long sleeve of her turtle neck up, Ginny did note that it looked at least a little bit better. Maybe it would finally heal over. Spring loomed just around the corner and soon it would be too hot to wear long sleeves on the weekends to hide the mark.

Absentmindedly picking up her wand off the nightstand and tucking it between her hair and ear, Ginny let herself walk down the stairs slowly to the common room. Sure enough, like she expected, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Dean sat in their favorite corner of the room. Most of the other students already left for breakfast - only a few fifth years remained to catch up on their Potions essays. Ginny would have walked right past her band of friends and straight out the portrait of the Fat Lady if Dean hadn't gently took her hand in his to make her stop.

Ginny turned around to face her friends and brother, but she pulled her hand away from Dean's grasp. The last thing she wanted right now was for him to touch her. Nothing romantic remained between them. They both knew it, yet Dean insisted on trying to find it again. Ginny told him not to bother, but he couldn't get it through his thick skull.

"Are you feeling any better?" Hermione asked quietly from her position in Harry's lap. Ginny ran a hand through her hair, taking a deep breath in order to remain calm. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak at the moment. Hermione nodded back. "Well... that's good," she added when no one else spoke up.

"We decided to wait for you to go to breakfast," Dean informed her, although it was already painfully clear to her. They were checking up on her. They didn't trust her to be alone anymore, and Ginny knew with a sinking feeling that she wouldn't be sneaking off at any time during the day to go check on him.

-_past-Draco_-

"Uhh..." she grunted when he pushed her harder into the mattress. "You don't have to be so pushy," she mumbled against his forehead while he tried his quickest to undress her. His mouth found her neck while his fingers continued to unbutton her blouse. "Draco..." she insisted, her eyes squeezing shut while her hands gripped the black, brass headboard until her knuckles turned white.

He never let her do what she wanted. While they did it in his bed, she followed his lead. Yet, he refused to sneak into her bedroom, creating himself a little dictatorship over their relationship, if you could even call it that. He used her in the bedroom and then during school time, he continued his hard, cold cover. Not that he treated her nice in his bed either. Ginny accepted he wouldn't change for her, but she still hoped for a small glance at the other side of him, the nice side of him, if he had one.

"You owe me," she reminded him. Oh boy, did he ever owe her. During the previous game of Quidditch, Ginny let the Snitch slip _just_ out of her reach and right into Draco's open hand to let Slytherin win the game, since Gryffindor didn't have a chance at winning the cup this year. Yeah, she had it bad for him, even if she wouldn't admit it even to herself. Her friends pressured for her to spill all of her dirty little secret, but Ginny managed to keep it to herself. The look he gave her as he reached out and clipped the Snitch promised her something great later. Now, Ginny was ready to collect.

"I don't owe you anything," Draco responded, his dark gray eyes glaring down into hers before his head ducked back down to nip at her neck. Ginny let out a small moan, her back arching off the sheets. He took this as an opportunity to slip one arm under her thin body while his other supported him above her. She let go of the headboard and let one hand ran into her wonderful hair while the other ran down to clutch his arm. "Oh... yes you dooo..." she moaned again as his mouth found hers hungrily. She almost giggled at the thought of Ron walking in on them. Not that it would ever happen, since she was in **his** room. But the thought remained in the back of her mind and Harry walking in also joined her imagination.

As her hand slid down his upper arm to his forearm, Ginny froze when her hand reached that spot. A chill ran up her spine and she unwillingly shivered, feeling the twisted flesh under her fingertips. Draco pulled back his arm under her as soon as her hand made contact, sending her falling back to the sheets. "Draco..." she started, but he was out of the bed and pulling his robes back on before she thought of something to say.

Ginny resisted movement for a minute while he got fully dressed. Then his eyes returned to her, a half naked Gryffindor in his bed without him, with his look that told her 'GET OUT'. Ginny slowly slid out from under the sheets and began to button up her shirt. Silently, she headed for the door while she pulled her hair back up into a ponytail. Before opening the door, she turned back to face him, which frightened her beyond belief. But she had to say it. Had to get it off her chest before she couldn't. "I don't care, you know," she whispered softly reaching out with one arm to indicate his Death Eater scar. "And I won't report you to Dumbledore, if that's what you're worried about."

When he still didn't say anything back, Ginny shrugged helplessly and turned around, leaving his room, once again feeling helpless and lost.


	4. Safe Here In My Room

Breaking The Habit

By: Anti Darth Ani

Chapter Four: Safe Here In My Room

Hey all! I'm so glad everyone enjoys my fan-fic. This is actually the first Ginny/Draco fan-fic I've ever attempted to write. Usually, I just stick to Harry/Hermione, but I've been reading a lot of Ginny/Draco lately, so I thought I'd give it a go since there aren't that many Ginny/Draco writers out there.

Anyways, you probably don't care about that. Just wanted to let you know that I know everyone has a bunch of questions and it's great how you all seem to care about this fan-fic. I'm trying to answer any questions I can without giving away parts of the plot. I don't have enough room to on the beginnings of the chapters, so FYI I'm going to be responding to reviews on the **review page** so just find your review there and see if I've written anything back. If I haven't, then you'll find out the answer soon enough :P Thanks and love to all!!!!

-_present_-

Ginny picked at the omelet on her plate with little interest. Food wouldn't make her feel better and she didn't think she could stomach the eggs at a time like this. She hadn't seen him in days, although sometimes during the night while she had dreams - nightmares - about him, it seemed much, much longer. Her stomach growled in protest to the lack of nutrition and food, but Ginny couldn't even concentrate on holding her fork steady. The sound of the metal hitting the table seemed to echo in her head, causing her to wince and the harshness of it all.

"Ginny, are you okay?" Dean asked against her ear. Ginny shivered, having him so closer proved to be torture recently. He rubbed her back softly with one hand, trying to soothe her, but only causing her to shudder against his touch.

Ginny slipped off of the bench quickly, stumbling to get upright on her feet. All the heads in the Great Hall immediately turned in her direction and all side conversations ceased. They all wanted for her to say something, or for Ron to say something actually since he was quickly getting up also, as was Thomas and Potter. "Ginny, what's the matter?" Ron asked softly, reaching out to his younger sister.

She didn't know why she did it. The last thing she wanted was for the whole school to know about the struggle she had to deal with concerning the news of his _problems_. But with Dean repeatedly touching her and all of her friends, including her brother, trying to **protect** her (only making it worse) by not telling her anything, Ginny couldn't take the pressure of keeping a semi-happy appearance up anymore. "What's the matter?" she hissed under her breath, getting right up in her brother's face. "Let me tell you what's the matter, **_Ronald_**. You and you Golden Trio are driving me up the walls. All I wanted to do was see him, to see what's wrong with him, if he's hurt. I just wanted to get a good _look_, Ron, but you insist that you're preventing me from doing so for my own good.

"It's not for my own good!" Ginny snapped, now even the teachers were looking down at the Gryffindor table with concern. "I can't sleep without seeing him in my mind. I can't eat without seeing that damned scar on his arm! I can't go to class without thinking he's suddenly going to appear out of one of the side corridors and pull me away with him!"

Oh, Ginny Weasley wasn't hissing anymore. On the contrary, she was yelling at the top of her lungs at her older brother, whose face began to resemble the color of his hair. "Ginny... can't we talk about this later?" Ron mumbled pathetically in an attempt to get her to keep quite. He reached out to take her arm and steer her through the massive double doors and into the common door, but Ginny stepped back quickly.

"Don't touch me!" Ginny screeched. She felt helpless against them, like she always did. Water gathered in the corners of her eyes and she threatened to break down in the middle of the entire school at any moment. The only person not in the room was the one person she desperately needed to see.

Professor McGonagall appeared quietly behind Ginny. Professor Dumbledore had asked her to pull Ginny out of the Great Hall and talk to her away from all the prying ears at breakfast. But when the old woman's hand touched Ginny's shoulder, Ginny spun around to face her.

"Why the hell won't anyone tell me where he is?" she asked desperately and McGonagall felt sympathy towards the girl, no matter what kind of mess the girl had made for herself.

"Darling, come with me out into the hallway, won't you, and we'll discuss it there," McGonagall told her softly, trying to remain a little control over Ginny Weasley. Ronald Weasley, on the other hand, couldn't be helped. He sank down miserably next to Harry at the table, watching his sister with careful eyes. McGonagall never pointed fingers at people, especially when they were her own students, but she knew Ron had a hand in causing Ginny's meltdown.

"I don't want to discuss anything," Ginny cried. "I just want to see him. I **need** to see him."

Professor McGonagall nodded at the youngest Weasley. "Mr. Malfoy is waiting for you out in the hallway, Ms. Weasley," she whispered against the girl's ear. Without another word, Ginny was running in the direction of the doors, hope filling her once again before McGonagall could stop her.

-_past-post Draco_-

_I don't know how it happened_... His sentence filled her mind as her eyes opened. Sitting up stiffly, Ginny picked up the blanket off the floor and pulled it back up to her waist. Her toes curled until they cracked softly and Ginny relaxed them. Her knuckles were next, followed by her neck. Looking out the frosted window, Ginny barely made out a hint of sun light. Winter just happened to be her favorite season of the year, especially around Christmas. With only two days to the sacred holiday, she should have felt happy.

Instead, she felt like a massive pile of crap. A pile of crap with a Death Eater mark on her arm. _I don't know how it happened_... he reminded her again, in her head where he always stayed, hidden behind her will to be independent. "If you don't know, how am I supposed to?" she asked softly out loud.

"What, Love?" a voice came from beside her. Startled, Ginny fumbled in the bed to turn towards the voice. She kicked at the sheets around her legs, only to get them even more twisted. It was almost justice when Ginny fell off the side of the bed and landed on the floor with a loud _thunk_! Grunting, she pushed herself up on her arms and the first thing she saw was a poster of David Beckam on the wall. _Oh crap_, she cursed to herself. _I fell asleep in Dean's room_? she asked herself. _When did I ever come into his room_?

Dean looked over the side of the bed at his girlfriend on the floor. "What don't I know, Gin?" he asked, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Nothing," Ginny muttered, pulling herself back up onto her feet and shoving the blanket back onto the bed. "I'd better get going," she mumbled, not meeting his eyes. "I was supposed to met someone before breakfast." Without waiting for a response, Ginny quickly picked up her sweater off his trunk at the end of his bed. Without a quick glance at Harry's bed across the room, Ginny snuck out of their dormitory, pulling on her sweater as she went.

-_past-Draco_-

Ginny let the water run over her bare skin, the cold making goose bumps raise on her arms and on her neck. Just the reminder of the way his made her body feel caused Ginny to scrub harder on her legs. She didn't want him to control this power over her anymore. Sure, it wasn't all that bad while it happened, but after it... she just couldn't get him off of her mind anymore and it drove her crazy to realize this.

And God, he had that blasted mark. A promise, it seemed to her, that he would never truly be there for her. Apart from the fact that he belonged to the Malfoy clan, Ginny knew very little about him, so it didn't help him in personality points that the only other thing she now knew about him was that he worked for the Death Eaters. She told him she didn't care about that mark before she left him in his dormitory, feeling completely used and confused, but that wasn't the case at all. She knew she could never report him to anyone, but just the thought of someone like that _inside_ of her made Ginny Weasley sick to her stomach.

Ginny winced as she pulled the washcloth away from her red arm. Damn it, she scrubbed it until it bled. The soap made it sting, so Ginny held her arm under the jet of water, trying to forget the pain. Her entire life this year became a complete mess. First, she'd fallen for Dean, who did nothing but pin her to the couch while snogging her and completely ignoring her, which turned into a disaster piece. _I love you so much, Ginny_, she mimicked in her head to herself as she rinsed the conditioner out of her hair. _Right, you love me alright_, Ginny snorted to herself. _You'd love to fuck me_.

Yet Draco, the polar opposite of Dean, actually got the pleasure of the shagging. No, no, no, she wouldn't let her boyfriend touch her like that, but she let her friends' enemy- almost everyday. _Am I insane_? she asked herself, running her hand through her wet hair. _I have to be_... How had she gone from being the youngest, most innocent redheaded Weasley child to becoming someone who had to rethink every decision she made because of Draco Malfoy? The guy she slept with, yet whom she knew would never be able to love her. His family wouldn't let him, his pride wouldn't let him; his heart. _If he even has a heart, that is_.

Turning off the water, Ginny pushed her hand past the shower curtain and reached for the counter, where she set her towel before getting in the shower. Her soaking wet fingers trailed over the bare counter, frustration filling her body and she extended her arm a little further and still didn't feel the cotton of her towel. _I'm going to kill Dean if he came in here and stole it again_, Ginny grumbled to herself, reaching out just a little further and still not getting anything.

Groaning at her misfortune, Ginny made to pull the curtain back to find the towel, when she suddenly felt it against her arm. Jerking back, almost slipping on the floor of the shower, Ginny pushed the curtain back closed and breathing in deep pants. _Who the hell is that_? she wondered, seeing the dark outline of a body through the curtain. Ginny gasped in air when the hand pulled back the curtain a ways. Afraid the person, whoever it was, was going to poke their head in, Ginny instinctively crossed her arms across her chest to cover up what she could.

The hand thrust the towel into the shower, but the head remained out of view. Reluctantly, Ginny reached out and took the towel from the mystery person, immediately wrapping it around her body to exclude peeping eyes. "Ginny, we need to talk," a voice came from the other side of the curtain and Ginny gasped at the realization of who it was. Peeling back the curtain with amazing speed, Ginny stared at the person on the other side of the curtain. "How the hell did you get **in** here?" she snapped.

-_past-post Draco_-

Ginny pulled her knees up to her chest in the fetal position, her head resting on her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. She hated herself for the way she screwed up her life this year. Anything she did she now regretted. She forced herself to include the times she'd spent in Draco's dormitory in this category of regret, but something tried to stop her. She couldn't regret _everything_ she had with Malfoy. If she did, the only thing that would remain with her was a broken heart.

More tears fell, harder and faster, at the thought. He wasn't supposed to be able to get to her here. Her room was the one place he wouldn't allow himself to travel in Hogwarts. But he haunted her anyways. He remained constantly in her mind, driving her slightly mad as she tried to contradict everything in her life.

He'd marked her as his, in his own, sick little way. Maybe he hadn't tried to, but she'd ended up with a huge Death Eater scar (which throbbed with pain) on her arm. His way of telling Dean Thomas to stay away from her. His way to say that he controlled her - her body and now her mind as well.

It should have killed her; the thought of him owning her. Yet, as Ginny cried into her knees, it didn't seem like such a bad thing after all. He actually made her happy, in a twisted way. He never hurt her, even though he tended to be a little rough when he got carried away. And, God, he let her touch him back, no matter how reluctant he was about it. Dean never let her lay a single finger on him. Not that she wanted to anymore.

Ginny released her legs and stretched out on her bed, burying her head into her pillow and let out another sob. She needed time to think about everything. She needed to think without him around her anymore. But that wouldn't happen. Because he was _always_ around her.


	5. Start Again

Breaking The Habit

By: Anti Darth Ani

Chapter Five: Start Again

-_present_-

She almost squealed when she saw him leaning against the wall, him arms crossed over his chest. Oh course she didn't, she hadn't since she was a little girl, but she _felt_ like squealing. She also felt like crying, but she figured if she cried too much more, she'd drown in all the water. So instead, she run (no, walked quickly) across the hallway to him. His facial expression told her nothing about his reaction to seeing her again, but she saw a quick flicker of emotion in his eyes that told her everything she needed to know. At least for now.

His lowered his arms as she got closer to him, so she didn't crush them when she finally reached him and tightly wrapped her arms around his neck. She buried her face against his neck, remembering his smell and loving the way his long, blond hair brushed up against her forehead. She loved everything about him, even down to that unmistakable mark on his arm. She didn't like what it stood for, but the loved the way he acted when she touched it.

He didn't hug her back. He was a Malfoy, after all. But he slowly rested his hands on her hips, rubbing his thumbs against the revealed skin between her pants and shirt. Ginny closed her eyes, her body sinking down into his. She knew how well their bodies fit together. She belonged here in this exact place - in his arms. He may not know it, but she thought he would eventually realize it.

Ginny lifted her head up slightly, her lips traveling instinctively to his ear. "What the hell happened to you?" she whispered before biting his earlobe playfully. One of her hands played with the hair on the back of his head, twirling the blond locks around her fingers slowly. God, how she envied his wonderful hair. The hair he hated her touching, but allowed it anyways.

He didn't answer her and she didn't expect him to. It would be uncharacteristic for Draco Malfoy to answer to a lowly Weasley, especially a female. No, Ginny could live without the answer. She knew she would get it out of him later, when he had less control of what he let slip...

For now, Ginny Weasley was content with his presence. With knowing that he was fine. _Because everyone has secrets_, she told herself, her eyes closing again as she rested her forehead on his shoulder and held him even closer.

-_past-Draco_-

"You know what, how isn't even important," she snapped, pulling the towel even tighter around her. "**Why** the hell are you here is more accurate." Embarrassment came easily to a Weasley, being slightly poor and redheaded with a Muggle loving father. But having your brother see you in the shower, even with a towel wrapped around you, would kill just about anybody.

Ronald Weasley didn't notice his sister's discomfort. He stared at her through narrow slits in his eyes. "What's this I hear about you and Dean Thomas?" he nearly croaked out, his entire body shaking with anger - or what Ginny assumed was anger.

Ginny shrugged, wringing out all the extra water from her hair. She winced slightly as all the muscles in the lower half of her body cramped up. _We're going to have to stop if he can't be more gentle_, Ginny told herself, making a mental note to mention that the next time he slammed her up against a solid wall. "It all depends on what you heard Ron," she told him. "There are a lot of nasty little rumors going around this school, you know." She smirked in a way that would make old Draco proud of her. She lowered her voice, "I've even heard a few about you and Miss Luna Lovegood."

Ron blushed under his freckles. "We're not talking about my... love life right now, Gin. We're talking about yours."

"Ahh!" Ginny grinned, pointing her finger at him. "So you do have one to talk about then, right? I'm sure Mum would love to know that, since she loves that magazine Luna's father runs."

"Stop trying to change the subject," Ron snapped. "I want to know if you're really sneaking off in the middle of the night to met Dean in other places of the castle." Ron paused, "Places Fred and George taught you."

"Where did you get that ridiculous idea from?" she asked, her mind now on alert.

"Well, I wake-up sometimes during the middle of the night (he didn't admit it was from his nightmares about spiders eating him alive) and Dean's not in his bed. So I mentioned this to your roommates and they told me that you're never in your bed either. I'm not stupid, Ginny."

Ginny took a minute to collect her thoughts. Sure, she snuck off during the middle of the night, but she definitely did not meet Dean. "Well, I... I go visit Dobby during the night because it's the only time there aren't a million people watching around the picture of the fruit bowl," she lied easily. Another gift she picked up from the twins. "I don't know where Dean goes," she added truthfully, "but I'll ask him the next time I see him if it's that important to you."

Before Ron could answer her back, Ginny pushed past him and left him standing alone in the bathroom. After a double take, Ron turned to face the door, shaking his head slowly at his rotten luck. He never got anything through his sister's thick head anymore...

-_past-Dean_-

"We just want different things," Ginny looked straight ahead while she said this. She paused for a second before shaking her head. _No, no, no that's lame_. "Maybe we can just be friends?" Ginny suggested and immediately regretted it. _I don't even really want to be friends with him anymore_. Groaning, Ginny threw the hair brush in her hand at her bed, watching as it bounced off the headboard and hit the floor.

"Why can't breaking up be easier?" Ginny mumbled to herself. Truthfully, she didn't know how to end things with Dean. They dated for over a year, eleven months longer than any other relationship she ever had. Ginny flopped onto her bed, picking up her magazine off the nightstand. "We have different _needs_..." Ginny tried, flipping to any article she thought could help her.

"I want you to bugger off and stop snogging with me," she suggested and laughed out loud, smirking at the thought. Yeah, she'd tell him that. Watch his pretty little soccer face turn bright pink. Better yet, she would say this while standing in front of Harry and her brother. Then he might really get the message. As well as Michael did the previous year.

_Guys are just too complicated_, Ginny complained to herself, watching as a witch her own age twirled around in a little black number on an advertisement for a clothing line. Ginny closed the magazine back up, throwing in the general direction of the nightstand and not caring when it missed by miles and landed in the corner of the floor in a heap. It fit in with all the rest of the crap in her room.

"I can't do this with you anymore, Dean. I don't have time for myself anymore and I constantly feel like I'm drowning." Okay, sure, she had to stretch the truth _a little_, but how would he know? She sure didn't feel bad about it. She felt like she couldn't be in a relationship with him anymore. And she had plenty of time for herself, but he took up over half of it and Ginny was a girl who needed to primp to be pretty. No just-rolled-out-of-bed look for this Weasley child.

Now all she had to do was find the prefect replacement for Dean before she put her break-up plan into action.

-_past-post Draco_-

"Look who finally decided to show up," he snapped coolly. Ginny pulled her sweater tighter around her body, shoving her hands into her pockets. She watched the way little puffs of air appeared from his mouth when he inhaled and exhaled. Winter really changed the way Ginny felt - at least it usually did. This year, Ginny felt confused the entire year, since she stepped foot into this castle at the beginning of terms.

"I didn't have to show up at all," she shot back, but she didn't hate him. She could never hate him - not anymore. Not after everything they shared together. So she bit her tongue from adding something to the tail of the sentence. "Why you decided we had to meet out on the damned freezing Quidditch field is beyond reasoning, but I guess falling off your broom a lot really starts to distort your thinking abilities after a while."

"Don't fuck with me, Weasley," he hissed under his breath, taking a step closer to her until she could feel his breath on her cheek.

Ginny stood her ground. They were playing a game of words and Ginny refused to be the first to fold. "That's a funny statement coming from you," she answered slyly. "Because usually that's the only thing you ever _want_ to do with me," she responded.

He immediately pushed her back up against the wall that covered the bottom of the stands. "I didn't come out here to freeze my ass off just for you to swap insults with me, Weasley. We could do that inside, in front of your little Dean Thomas."

"Then why are we out here, Draco?" she asked calmly, searching his eyes for anything, but, as usual, getting nothing back but a blank stare. Her hands reached out by habit to run her fingers through his hair, brushing the heavy locks away from his forehead.

"This is _not_ the time for that," he whispered harshly, causing her to slowly pull her hand away, only to rest it on his shoulder. "I brought you something to help with your... _problem_," he continued in a lower voice. "Get it out of my pocket."

Ginny snorted unladylike. _'This is not the time for that' my ass_, she told herself, letting her free hand slip into the pocket of his robes. Her delicate fingers touched the warm glass of a little vile. Wrapping her hand around the neck of the bottle, Ginny carefully pulled it out and brought it up between their two bodies, looking at the black liquid in the see-through, green tinted container. "Figures it's Slytherin colors," she muttered under her breath. Her eyes looked back to Draco, "What is it?" she asked softly.

Draco, pushed her hand down, motioning for her to put the vile into her sweater pocket. He glanced around quickly before bending his head down next to her ear. "Just pour it onto your arm," he whispered, sending shivers up Ginny's spine. He knew the powers he had over her and he always used them to his advantage.

Her own lips found his ear, her tongue darting out to trace the outer edge of his ear, "Oh, is that all?" she mocked, the arm still resting on his shoulder moving to behind his neck. "Trying to pretend like you're not getting all soft on me?"

Draco grunted against her ear, pushing her into the wall harder with his own body. "Don't start something you can't finish, Gin," he murmured against her ear, nipping at her earlobe softly. Ginny smiled when she heard her nickname escape from between his lips - a rare treat for her.

In return, Ginny arched her back so that her entire body fit flush into his. He steadied himself by resting one hand on the wall, but the other went to grip her waist. Almost possessively. Ginny kissed down his jaw line, grinning when she saw the rapid movement of his Adam's apple. _You're really going to owe me next time_, she giggled to herself. He found all of this too slow, finally managing to capture her lips with his own to stop her torture.

His tongue forced her lips apart and dove into her mouth. Ginny immediately moaned when his tongue reached out to hers. It didn't really get to her until he started to suck on her tongue, pulling it forcefully into his mouth. Ginny's knees started to tremble, threatening to give out soon. Draco took another small step in her direction, his leg going between her thighs so that she could relax and sit somewhat awkwardly on his knee. _He knows me so well_, Ginny thought to herself. A scary thought, yet a comforting one at the same time.

His hand inched it's way up the back of her shirt and before she knew it, his finger's had expertly unclipped her bra. She could feel his hand traveling back down her side diagonally, resting on her flat belly for a second while he traced lazy circles around bellybutton. When his hand traveled back up, it brought the bottom of her shirt with it. Ginny didn't protest until he reached just under her breasts (mostly because she loved the feel of his long, slender fingers on every inch of her skin). But Ginny regretfully pushed him back slowly and with great resistance, Draco finally got the message. "It's too cold," she complained, her chest heaving with the effort of trying to breathe.

"I got to go," he told her, agitated with her sudden, hot-cold emotion. As he walked away, Ginny groaned, reaching behind her to try to re-clip her bra while following close behind him. Once she finally managed to get it back on, she reached out and grabbed his arm, "Don't be such a bastard," she shouted into the gathering wind.

Draco spun around to face her, his eyes flashing with anger. "What did you just call me, Weasley?" he snapped, taking a step closer to intimidate her.

Ginny matched his movement, her hand gripping his robe's sleeve tighter. "I said 'Don't be such a bastard'." She paused for a moment. "Come back to my dorm with me," she asked softly, barely auditable above the roaring wind. She sounded like she was begging and she didn't want to sound desperate or weak. But, God, she wanted this so bad and it drove her crazy that the only part of Hogwarts they _hadn't_ been together in was _her_ bedroom.


	6. I Don't Wanna Be The One

**Breaking The Habit**

By: Anti Darth Ani

Chapter Six: I Don't Wanna Be The One

Bittersweetlove, this chapter is dedicated to you, since you have been waiting for ever for this chapter. To all my readers and reviewers, I am truly sorry about how long it's taken me to update. I've had a busy couple of weeks with so much homework and babysitting to do. But, here's the chapter. ENJOY!!!!!

-_past-post Draco_-

Ginny grunted when she saw all the extra sunlight in her room. Why did it have to get light so early during the winter? Ginny shifted in the bed, rolling over onto her other side to try to find a more comfortable position. When she moved, pain pierced through her arm, causing Ginny to hiss through bared teeth. She clutched her arm to her chest, her free hand reaching out to the nightstand for the vile of black liquid.

It was gone. Ginny nudged him in the side, causing him to mutter a few cuss words under his breath before attempting to pull the comforter up above his head. Ginny elbowed him this time, trying to ignore the pain in her arm for as long as she could. He tossed the comforter back, "What the **fuck** do you **want**?" he snapped, glaring at her.

"Where did you throw my sweater last night?" The words flew from her mouth before she gasped at the pain in her arm. Daring to look at it, her eyes traveled to the Death Eater mark. It was bleeding again and Ginny groaned, leaning back against the headboard to keep from smothering herself to death.

"How the hell am I supposed to remember?" he asked, turning to face away from her, ignoring her arm. It wasn't his problem.

"**Just tell me**!" she snapped back at him.

Draco turned around to take a good look at her. She knew he wasn't used to getting orders, especially from someone like her. He frowned at her, his brow creasing, but he leaned over the opposite side of the bed and picked up the vile of liquid for her. He dangled it in front of her face, but when she reached out for it, he pulled it away. "Don't you owe someone an apology?" he asked her, a smirk covering his face.

Ginny leaned forward and snatched it out of his hand, setting it between her legs while she unscrewed the lid with her good hand. "Yeah, and if I find her, I'll make sure I give her one," she retorted pouring the liquid over her arm slowly, trying not to spill any on her bed.

Draco reflectively grabbed the bottle as she dropped it. He covered her mouth with his hand as she screamed in pain. Ginny scratched his arm to get him to let go of her mouth, but he continued to press his hand to her mouth. "Are you bloody _mad_?" he hissed, setting the vile on the nightstand. "You keep this up and everybody's going to be rushing in here to make sure you're all right."

Ginny jerked her face away from his hand, "You didn't tell me how much it _hurt_," she accused.

Draco shrugged it off, "Oh, that little sting at the beginning? That's nothing..." he stopped and pushed back the sheets, standing up in all of his glory, quickly finding his boxers on the floor. Ginny watched him dress in complete silence. It wasn't until he started to walk toward the door, his wand out in front of him, that Ginny spoke up. "You're just leaving?" she asked.

He didn't even turn around to face her. Muttering a spell under his breath, he slipped out of the girls' dormitories to start docking points from all the students who stayed over the holiday break.

-_past-Dean_-

"Hey, Ginny! Wait up, would you?" Dean called after her. Ginny unconsciously speed up a little, holding her books closer to her chest and she pushed her way through the net of other Hogwarts students. If only she could get close to her next class, Potions, she knew Dean wouldn't follow her. Too bad for her, Dean caught up with her right before she reached the stairs to go down into the dungeons of the school.

"What's the deal?" he asked softly, pushing her loose hair back behind her ears. "Are you avoiding me, Gin?" he questioned.

Ginny shook her head, but she also indicated that she didn't want to talk to him right then. "I... I need to get to class. You know Snape - if I'm late again he's going to kill me. Or worse, give me detention." Ginny tried to smile at her boyfriend. "I don't have time for either one right now." _That's good. Let him know how busy you are. Make him realize it's coming before you drop it on his shoulders_. "But I'll see you later today, okay?"

Dean pulled her to him in a small kiss, "You're coming to the Yule Ball with me, aren't you? It's my last year here," he told her as if she didn't know.

_Is that you're way of asking me_??? she wondered to herself. _Because it **sucks** if it is_!!!!!! Ginny sighed to herself, pulling away from his kiss and his touch. "I really do have to get going, Dean," she told him, avoiding the question and she turned away and raced down the stairs three at a time, even though she still had plenty of time to burn before the class started.

One of the last things Ginny wanted to do was spend extra time in the creepy basement with Professor Snape. But she was desperate to get away from Dean - she'd go just about anywhere.

-_past-Draco_-

"You're meeting the girl you spent the night with after the Yule Ball, aren't you?" Ginny asked, trying to remain cool. Trying not to sound as angry as she felt. True, she wasn't completely 'in' their relationship, but she wasn't the one who wanted it either. Dean did. And Dean was cheating on her.

"Ginny, I told you a thousand times that I didn't spend the night with _anyone_ after the Yule Ball. Although I can't say the same about you. You still haven't told me what happened when you went for punch and never came back." Like he wanted her to answer that question right now. Not going to happen.

"You've been meeting someone at late hours in the night, Dean. So just tell me who! Who the hell is she?" Ginny begged for an answer. She wanted to confirm his unloyalty so she could justify hers. He still hadn't found out about Draco- luckily no one else had either.

Dean shook his head slowly, running one hand through his hair and leaning back against the building, "You've always got to think something's wrong," he accused. "You can't believe that I'd just be satisfied with just you. And you want to know why that is, Ginny? Because even though you'll go with a complete stranger from another house you don't know, you won't even fuck your own boyfriend."

Ginny's nostrils flared with pent up angry. She poked his in the chest with her right index finger, "I could sleep with you Dean, and so could all the other Gryffindors in the school and you still wouldn't be satisfied." She wanted so badly to just spit in his face. "Well, guess what? I found someone I **can** satisfy," she hissed, pushing off his chest with her finger and taking a step back. "I don't even care know she is anymore, Dean. Because you can have her now. We're through."

Ginny turned around and stalked off, her head held high and a wonderful smirk she'd picked up from _him_ covering cheek to cheek.

-_present_-

"I missed you," Ginny whispered against the collar of his shirt while his fingers found the belt loops of her pants, pulling her up against him. Ginny unbuttoned the front of his shirt, resting her hands on his bare chest when she finished. "I even dare to say that I _worried_ that you were okay."

Draco made an unintelligible sound at her remark, and Ginny grinned. "I know, silly me," she said it for him, since he wasn't in the talking mood. "Tell me something," she murmured against his chin, kissing it lazily. "Tell me _anything_. About what happened, about you're childhood. Just something."

He didn't answer and Ginny sighed, nuzzling her head against his neck. She would never understand him. His attitude matched his manner - completely mysterious and dark (and damn proud of it as well). _I don't know anything about him_, she thought to herself, her fingers inching up his chest to rest on his shoulders. _But at least I still have him_. Ginny closed her eyes. _For now_.

"And if I don't want to?" he whispered against her ear. He pulled his head back and rested his forehead on hers. One of his hands released her jeans to push back the stray hair in her face. He willingly touched her, something he rarely ever did, in an affectionate way nonetheless.

"Oh, I'm sure I could get you to want to," Ginny told him back in a hushed voice, her index finger running up his neck and under his chin, pulling away slowly, leaving an invisible path to her lips. Draco took the hint and captured her mouth with his. And yet, unlike all the other (numerous) times before, it seemed gentle, and slow. Like they had forever.

"I lo-" he started to say when he pulled away, but he immediately stopped, looking shocked.

Ginny's eyes shot open, searching in his, but she came up empty, like always. Her grip on his shoulders tightened. "You what?" she demanded softly, almost afraid, and half expecting, what he had been about to say. Since she'd wanted to say it to him ever since he'd given her that blasted _mark_ on her arm. Silly, really, how that worked out.

Draco barely shook his head. _He nothing_, Ginny thought with a sinking feeling. She tried not to think about it when his lips found hers again. _And it's back to square one_.


	7. The Battles

**Breaking The Habit**

By: Anti Darth Ani

Chapter Seven: The Battles

-_past-Dean_-

"God, Gin. You look amazing," Dean told her breathlessly. He loosened his tie slightly as his eyes traveled down her body. Ginny shrugged, feeling uncomfortable with the attention he gave her. "Can we just go?" she asked, pushing some of her stubborn hair out of her eyes. "Hermione and Harry are waiting in the Great Hall for us."

"It's not good to show up late for the Yule Ball, I guess," Dean added as he took her arm in his. Ginny didn't even bother with a response. The sooner they got there, the sooner they could leave. And when she entered the Great Hall, she planned to get lost in the crowd for the night. She would apologize to Dean in the morning. But she wouldn't feel guilty about it, because she knew he'd have more fun without her as well.

_I look 'amazing' because he hopes to get lucky tonight_, Ginny reminded herself, following his lead down the hallway among other couples. Happier couples. _He really doesn't get that no means **no**_. Ginny shook her head to herself, feeling her hair bounce with the movement. She refused to let the night be a bad one, no matter who took her to the dance. She'd find someone else to spend the night with once she got there. Then tomorrow she would suggest that they see other people or something of equal proportions.

The Great Hall looked great, she had to admit when they arrived. The lights twinkled and floated in the air. Teachers put a charm on everyone who walked into the room so that when they started to dance, they rose a few inches into the air while mist covered the entire floor. _Brings a new meaning to 'walking on clouds'_, Ginny thought to herself, looking for any of her friends - anyone she knew at all would be good.

But when she didn't see anyone she knew, she followed Dean. Of course, finding _anyone_ she knew at the Yule Ball was going to be a challenge, since it was a masquerade ball and everyone was wearing elegant clothing and masks. _No one wants to make this break-up situation easy on me, do they_? Ginny complained, shooting a glare at the person who had just bumped into her.

_This is going to be one hell of a night_, Ginny told herself sitting down across the table from Dean, next to a girl Ginny assumed was a Gryffindor as well. No way of being sure of anything in this place. Her leg bounced up and down with anxiety, hoping for someone to ask her to a dance. Anyone at all. But as Harry, who had pulled his mask onto the top of his head in order to see better, placed a Butterbeer in front of her, Ginny sighed, bringing the glass to her lips and drinking the entire drink without stopping. She was going to end up getting severely drunk by the end of the night at this pace.

_Don't want that_, Ginny reminded herself. _Don't want to make it easier for Dean to get what he wants. Want to make it harder. Much harder._ Thoughts ran through her head at top speed. Anything to keep her mind off the guy across the table from her that kept staring at her.

Harry was the first guy to ask her to dance. Ginny took his hand as soon as he stretched it out to her. Finally, something went right for her. She followed him out onto the floor as he pulled his mask back down his face. They found the perfect spot on the dance floor and Harry pulled her close, but not too close, and they danced to a slow song. Ginny giggled when she felt herself being pulled off of the floor. When she looked down between their bodies, she couldn't even see the floor under them that disappeared into the mist as they rose a little further into the air.

Resting her chin on his shoulder, she watched over his back at other couples rising into the air as well. Everything seemed so magical and yet, Ginny couldn't help but feel miserable. Everyone filled the hall with joy, yet Ginny felt below them all. Like she was grounded on Earth, watching everyone else have a good time above her.

Harry pushed her out gently and twirled her under his arm. Her charmed brown, wavy hair framed her face as she spun around. As Harry pulled her back, Ginny promised herself she'd forget about Dean for the night. She'd worry about him again in the morning.

-_past-post Draco_-

"Don't be like this!" Ginny begged, pushing through the portrait of the Fat Lady and chasing him down the hallway. He didn't stop, or even slow down a little. Ginny's feet pounded against the concrete floor as she raced after him. "Stop running away from me!" she begged as she got closer.

Finally, she managed to jog in front of him, freezing as soon as her eyes made contact with his. "You don't have to be like everyone expects you to be, you know. It wouldn't kill you to prove them wrong."

Draco tried to step around her, but Ginny moved quickly to stand in his way again. She shoved her hair out of her face, the red locks tangled and knotted from the night before. Draco lowered his face down until it stayed only an inch away from hers. "Move," he hissed through bared teeth.

Ginny stood her ground stubbornly. She reached into the pocket of her coat she'd thrown on quickly, pulling out the chain. She held out his necklace with the pendant dangling from it. Draco glanced from her eyes to her hand, quickly snatching up the chain and pulling it forcefully over his head. He proceeded by tucking it securely under his shirt, hiding it from prying eyes.

"Nothing's changed," he told her and Ginny nodded slowly. She wanted to reach out to him, to touch his cheek with her fingers to know if his body held any warmth, but she just couldn't. _Merry Christmas to me_, Ginny thought sarcastically to herself. "I really don't understand you, Malfoy," she whispered. "You're so…. bipolar. Half the time you're jumping my bones and the other half it hurts you to just touch me. Why? Because of my family? Because I'm _poor_?"

"Because you're so fucking annoying," Draco spat, but Ginny knew it was the closest to a compliment as she was going to get from him. Ginny smirked that evil little smirk he'd taught her so well over the past few months. His lips inched closer to her skin and Ginny angled her head back to allow him access to her neck, which he loved the most. Ginny moaned softly when his mouth reached her neck, his hand resting on the small of her back, halfway under her shirt and halfway exposed to the air of the hallway.

Ginny rested a hand on his shoulder, grinning like mad. She always got him to come back to her, no matter what. Sometimes it took him a little longer to come around, but he always came. "You **are** getting soft on-," she whispered against his ear.

She never finished the sentence because while she talked, Hermione Granger appeared through the portrait hole. Now, she stood rooted to the floor, shocked at the display of Ginny and Draco. Ginny tried to push him away softly, but he continued his attack on her neck, making his way to her shoulder. "Draco," she struggled with his name, desperately trying to push him away before another Gryffindor could catch them.

Draco pulled away, an evil glare on his face. Ginny cleared her throat and Draco turned his head halfway around until his could see Hermione. "Filthy Mudbloods," he mumbled, stepping past Ginny and heading down the hallway towards his common room, pulling his robes straight as he walked. Ginny rubbed at the spot he had been kissing as she took a step closer to her friend, "Hermione…"

Hermione shook her head, taking a step back. Her eyes were wide with confusion and disbelief. "Hermione, please," Ginny begged, getting closer to the other girl, "you _can't_ tell Ron." A few tears threatened to spill from her eyes. "He'll absolutely kill me. Or Dean. Or Harry," Ginny stopped in mid-sentence. "You really need to just keep this between the two of us."

Hermione shook her head, just barely. "I…I…I…" she couldn't form a complete sentence. Ginny's heart sank, knowing she's been foolish for chasing him out of the Gryffindor common room. Even more stupid to let him kiss her in plain sight. When did she become so careless? Or when did he become careless as well? Such a mistake.

Hermione turned around and walked back into the common room. Ginny followed quickly on her heels, about to tell her how important it was to keep it a secret, when she saw Ron and Harry standing in the middle of the common room, surrounding by Christmas presents and smiling like mad. Hermione went and stood next to Harry and refused to catch Ginny's eye.

Ginny watched her, even as Dean looped his arms around her waist, lifting her off the ground and twirling her around in a circle. "Merry Christmas, Ginny!" he exclaimed, setting her back down before lowering his lips to hers. She couldn't enjoy any of it. The look on Hermione's face when she walked out of the portrait flashed through Ginny's head repeatedly. Ginny groaned inwardly, knowing it was going to be a long day.

-_present_-

_It's not the same anymore_, she thought to herself, turning over onto her side and staring at the plain, white wall. _He's so different and yet I still get sucked in_. She chided herself for being such a pushover. Yet, her bed felt so empty without him next to her. _Have it once and you'll always want to keep it_, her mother's word echoed through her head. Ginny couldn't remember what her mother had been talking about, but now it didn't seem relative. The idea behind the words were the important part. _I had him here in my room and now I want to keep him here. Forever_…

Ginny groaned, pulling a pillow over her head, trying to block out the sound of rain and extra thoughts. She had a family who loved her, a brother who wanted nothing more than to protect her, and friends who would go to the ends of the world for her. _But it's not enough anymore_, she told herself, shifting in the bed again. _Nothing's enough except **him**. Him inside of me._"What were you going to tell me?" she whispered out loud, knowing no one would hear her. "That you love me? Or you loathe me? Or did you plan on not saying anything because you want me to go bloody mad."

Ginny pulled her knees up closer to her chest for more body warmth. "You love watching me hurt, don't you?" she asked allowed, on the verge of tears. "You want me to fail your fucking test just so you can throw it back in my face whenever you're not perfect."

"I'm always perfect."

_I didn't say that_. Ginny winced, already recognizing the voice. She pulled the pillow away from her head slowly, daring to open her eyes to look at the slim figure leaning against the wall. "Stay out of my mind, Malfoy," she complained, rolling over to face away from him. She hated the way his gray eyes stared straight into her soul. She couldn't hide anything for him, no matter how hard she tried. "And you're _not_ always perfect," she threw back as an afterthought, knowing it would get him worked up, the way it always did when she didn't completely agree with him.

He didn't answer her, which confused Ginny, but she refused to turn around to look at him. She considered that as defeat and she wouldn't let him control her anymore. Sure, he'd control her body as long as he kept up their usual routine, but she wouldn't give him her mind. Her _heart_. When he still didn't say a word, Ginny wrinkled up her noise. _Leave it to Malfoy to make me cave. Like I really care if he's bloody perfect._

Ginny rolled over so she faced the ceiling. She saw him standing at the foot of her bed, his arms crossed over his chest. He tapped his foot in mock annoyance, and Ginny knew he didn't mean it. "I don't care if you're perfect," Ginny whispered, locking eyes with him.

Draco unraveled his arms, leaning one knee onto the bed and resting his hands palm down on the sheets by her feet. "I do," he whispered back, causing Ginny to unintentionally shiver. Ginny tried to suppress a moan when he crawled onto the bed, stalking over her body until his face hovered above hers. "I have to be perfect, Gin," he whispered, dipping his head down low to kiss her chin.

Ginny's eyes fluttered close as soon as his lips made contact with her skin. _No fair…_ Ginny thought about his power to manipulate her body so well. She knew very well what they would be doing for the rest of the day and most likely into the night. "Don't leave this time," she begged softly as his lips brushed against hers before he sealed the deal, crushing his lips against hers. Ginny instinctively opened her mouth, her tongue creating a hot and heavy chase with his. He pulled her bottom lip into his mouth, biting it sharply, causing Ginny to moan, arching up into his body.

_God, his wonderful body_, Ginny thought, her numb fingers wanting to touch every part of him. It had been at least a week since the last time she'd been with him. They could do all the foreplay later, after she felt him inside of her again. Instead of trailing her fingers over his chest and back, she made them stay on the mattress by her sides. _He gets to be in control_, she demanded of herself. _At least for now_.

He rested most of his weight on his knees, allowing himself to use his hands to undress her, instead of for balance. His hands found their way under her t-shirt, riding it up as his fingers traveled up the smooth skin of her sides. His mouth refused to resign its fight with hers, his tongue driving her wild as he dropped her bottom lip to run his tongue over her perfect, white teeth. Ginny moaned again, shifting under him trying to get him to hurry. Couldn't he tell how much she needed him? **Now**???

He broke away just long enough to finishing pulling her shirt up and over her head. He quickly pulled his own off before capturing her mouth again hungrily. His hands instantly went to her pants' zipper. Ginny's hands gripped a fistful of sheets in order to stop them from clutching to his hair. _Control is everything_, Ginny reminded herself, arching her back up off the bed and pressing her breasts into his muscular chest. _Knew it was a good idea not to bother with a bra today_.

After what seemed like forever to Ginny, he'd finally undressed both of them. He slid under the covers with her, loving the feel of her sheets on his bare back. Ginny forced herself not to touch him. He wanted control and dammit, she was going to give it to him, no matter what. His mouth abandoned hers, traveling down the valley between her breasts to her stomach. He dipped his tongue into her navel, causing Ginny to shudder with want.

"Later," she whispered, meaning the exploration of her body. He could do all of that and so much more later. She just needed him now. And he knew that. He just insisted on torturing her. As if disappearing for almost a week hadn't been enough to drive her up the walls.

Finally, his lips found hers again. He ran his hands up her sides before letting them hit the mattress. They traveled under her arms, one resting just under her body, between her neck and her back, while the other grabbed a handful of sheet under her pillow. He slowly let himself drop onto her, his knees letting go of the support while his legs pushed her legs further apart. Ginny moaned against his mouth. He used his hand to press her body up flush against him and she willingly agreed, helping him out.

And before she knew it, he was inside of her. Taken off guard and quite surprised, Ginny grunted against his mouth. It didn't even surprise her anymore that it didn't hurt when he entered her. Just as quickly as he was in he came out. Before she could complain, he went back inside, with quick, deep plunges.

She'd let him control the situation long enough. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer and making his thrusts even harder and deeper, more desperate than ever. She knew he felt the same way as she did. She rested her hands on his waist, pulling his hips even closer to hers. She had to have him like she'd never had him before. Not no one ever had or ever could again. He had to be _hers_.

His lips left her to go back to her neck. Ginny threw her head back against the pillow, panting painfully while he continued quicker. "Draco…." she drew out his name, making him listen to her. "Now…" she begged, matching him thrust for thrust.

Driven by the way she begged, Draco gave one more hard push and they both released at the exact same moment, Ginny screaming him name while he managed to not say a word. Draco collapsed on top of her, too spent to even pull out of her. He rested his head next to hers, not bothering to move because he knew she was strong enough to support his weight by now.

"I won't leave," he whispered against her ear before burying his head into her damp hair and closing his eyes, inhaling the wonderful scent.

-_past-Draco_-

He caught up with her faster than she thought possible. He grabbed her wrist, yanking her around to face him and pulling her body flush up against his. Ginny met his cold eyes with her own, livid ones. "I wasn't through speaking to you," he hissed.

Ginny tried to pull away from him, but his grip increased until it actually hurt. Like she really wanted him to mark her with some new bruises. "Well I was done with you," Ginny spat back. "You can't have all the things you want, Dean. You have to pick what you want the most."

"I want you," he insisted, "but you refuse to be with me."

Ginny shook her head at his retort. "I don't refuse to be with you. I just refuse to have sex with you, Dean. It's not the same thing," she told him before he could tell her it was.

"I want to have sex with you Ginny," he told her, point blank. Ginny stared up in his eyes. She knew he was telling her the truth. She knew he meant every single word of what he said. She knew he told her over and over again how much he loved her. But she had a hard time believing him and she really didn't want to let him ruin the sexual… bond… she'd formed with-

-Draco Malfoy. Whatever that meant. Ginny shook her head, "I just can't trust you enough for that kind of relationship."

Dean cupped her cheek with his hand, "Then let me prove to you that you can trust me again, Ginny. Just give me some time to prove it to you. Don't give up on us now."

An image of Draco's sweaty, naked body flashed through her mind. Ginny shook her head to trying to get rid of the image - no matter how much she liked it in her head. "Fine," she muttered, making Dean smile and capture her mouth (now tainted) with his.


	8. Choose

**Breaking The Habit**

By: Anti Darth Ani

Chapter Eight: Choose

-_present_-

Draco Malfoy stayed true to his word. Ginny Weasley woke up on Sunday morning, one of his arms wrapped around her waist, the other supporting both their heads under the pillow. When she opened her eyes, she saw his long, delicate fingers poking out at the end of the pillow, making her smile. She felt his chest, firm and secure, pressed against her back and his head resting in her hair.

She wanted to fall back asleep, but her stomach growled furiously at the lack of food. She'd spent the entire day before doing extraneous things with Malfoy and now her body begged to be repaid. Ginny stretched out her long legs, wincing at the stiffness of her legs and the soreness between them. He'd really worked her the day before. Not that it bothered her- no, not one bit.

Ginny blew some of her hair out of her face, rolling her neck to the best of her ability to try to relieve some of the pain in her body. _All his bloody fault_, Ginny grumbled to herself, looking down at his hand rested on her flat stomach. His fingers twitched every once in a while and he'd mutter something inaudible against her hair. Ginny grinned her herself, loving the feeling she got waking up in his arms.

Ginny took his hand in between her two, setting it next to her on mattress in order to turn around to face him. He luckily didn't notice the shift in the bed and stayed asleep. He looked so _peaceful_ when he slept. Almost creepy in the way his lips curved into a smile. Not a smirk, but an actual smile. Ginny rested her palms against his undershirt, frowning. _When did he have time to put on his undershirt and boxers_, she wondered to herself.

Ginny scooted closer to him and his arm reflexively pulled her up against him. Ginny looked up at his eyes, which were closed with ease. She kissed his chin before kissing a trail down his neck until she reached the neck line of his shirt. Ginny grabbed the bottom of his undershirt, tucking her hands under it and running her hands slowly up the front of his shirt, tracing all his well defined muscles with her fingers.

Draco's eyes slid open lazily. Ginny felt the increase of his breathing against her forehead. Her hands paused for a moment while she looked back up to his face and met his gaze. "You're overdressed," she whispered, pulling his undershirt up more to prove her point. Draco yawned slowly, flexing the hand attached to the arm currently still under the pillow.

"Five more minutes," he mumbled, closing his eyes and repositioning his head to fit the pillow better. Ginny let out a sound similar to a growl, running one hand down his chest and resting it around his bellybutton, dipping her finger into it before tracing a circle around it. The muscles in his stomach tensed up but he still pretended that she wasn't affecting him.

"Don't make me beg," she whispered against his ear, reaching for the elastic of his boxers. She ran her hand around the border, giving him a hint at what she meant. Draco let out a grunt, his eyes still closed and his head not moving.

Ginny repositioned her face so that is what right in front of his. She touched his nose with her before dipping a little lower to brush her lips against his. "_Please_," she whispered against his ear, resting her head on the side of his, getting her hand a centimeter under the waistband of his boxers. She knew he loved the way her voice sounded when she begged - especially when she begged for sex. "Just like you did it after the Yule Ball," she murmured against his ear.

This sentence gave her a reaction. Draco quickly pulled off the pillow and rolled over onto her, pressing her into the mattress. He shoved that fiery red hair out of her freckled face, while he smirked down at her. Ginny stared right into his eyes, mirroring his trademark smirk she'd learned so well, while she began to pull his undershirt up and he quickly yanked off his boxers.

-_past-Dean_-

Once the song ended, the Weird Sisters started up with a quicker beat. A stranger's hand pulled her away from Harry, who headed over in the general direction of Hermione and Ron. Ginny followed silently, glad to the fact that the hand didn't belong to Dean.

She felt better in her costume and mask. A stranger even to herself with her bewitched hair and freckle free face. For one night, she wasn't an obvious Weasley. For just once, Ginny allowed herself to show who she was on the inside - not what her family wanted her to represent. She didn't think it would cause her any trouble over the night. It made it easier to escape from Dean's clinging, allowed her to be **free**.

The hand pulled her body up against its and Ginny felt revealed to note that the person dancing with her was, in fact, a male. _You never know these days_, she mused to herself, causing herself to grin. She didn't recognize anything through the mask, which was the whole point of the ball after all. Yet, this person felt oddly familiar to her and for a second, Ginny feared the worst. "Michael?" she whispered as she leaned in closer to the masked figure.

The figure pushed her away to spin her around once and then pull her back, his free hand reaching for her waist and pulling her flush up against him. _No, most definitely not Michael_, she told herself. She could almost see him smile under the mask, although she would never know. It began to drive her crazy as they danced faster and faster to match the beat and the other dancers around them.

She eyes linked with his. She saw a rare fire in them, one that scared her and fascinated her at the same time. One she wanted to explore the depths of. And not just on the dance floor. Electricity fueled her and he spun her halfway around, pulling her back up against his chest. Her dress didn't cover her back, just the small of her back down to her knees was covered by the dress. A small little black halter top number that left little to the imagination. It contrasted greatly with her pink and white mask. His long fingers reached around from behind and gripped her hips and they swayed quickly to the tune like the rest of the students.

Ginny ran her fingers down the arms of his tux, before wrapping her hands around his. She figured he had to be a Quidditch player, like herself, to have the strong, muscular chest that outlined her back, even through his shirt and jacket, and those hands. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, resting it on his shoulder while continuing to move with him. Images of all the different Quidditch players for all the different houses ran through her mind. Of course, it left out the obvious ones - the girls, Harry Potter, Dean, Ron, and Draco Malfoy. So who did that really leave for her? Ginny thought about it while the guy behind her nipped at her left earlobe.

The song ended and an ever faster one began. She expected the guy to go dance with someone else, but he continued to hold her hips, moving them faster to the rhythm. Ginny felt dizzy as she looked down at the ground a good foot below where they hovered in the air. Yet her fingers refused to let go of his long ones, which her hands clutched to desperately.

They moved with the crowd, but they wouldn't blend in. Ginny began to feel sweat form at the back of her neck and in the small of her back. Her forehead felt damp and she needed to sit and take a second to relax. But he just continued to move with her, moving from her ear to her neck. The worst part was Ginny let him. She knew Dean was out there somewhere, waiting for her to return from dancing with Harry. But Dean seemed hopeless to Ginny and she didn't want to waste anymore time with him.

When the second song ended, a slow song started. Ginny felt him turn her back around, his arms remaining on her waist. Ginny tried to let her breathing even out while she looked into the eye holes of the person in the mask. The dim lights prevented her from seeing anything but the pupils and the white around the color. Once she looked into his eyes, she couldn't look away. They drew her to him, until her lips were pressed against his and no thoughts remained in her mind.

-_past-post Draco_-

"Hermione…" Ginny pulled her older friend over to the side of the group while Harry, Ron, and Dean tore through the wrapping paper on their Christmas presents. "About what you saw…" she trailed off, not really sure what to say to the bushy haired bookworm. She knew how Hermione felt about Harry, and how they spent the night after the Yule Ball together, so she figured Hermione would be the likeliest to understood Ginny's screwed up love life.

"Where do you get off snogging with Malfoy in the halls?" Hermione hissed under her breath, anger lighting up her eyes. "You can get back at Dean with any guy, Ginny." Hermione glanced across the room at Harry, who laughed at something Ron said. "Why do you have to pick the guy that affects all of us?"

Ginny crossed her arms across her chest, "It's not like I _picked_ Draco," Ginny shot back. "It just happened, okay? You, of all people, should know that some things just happen and you can't prevent them."

Hermione glared at Ginny, flipping some of her hair over her shoulder. Ginny pictured Lavender doing the same thing and the thought of Hermione turning into a girl like Lavender made her shiver. "Harry and I are **different** from you and that…. Ferret," Hermione snapped.

Ginny shook her head, "I really don't want to get into a huge argument about it with you. Just promise me that you won't tell them." Ginny waited for Hermione's response. "_Please_," she begged, sending a glance over to Dean and her brother. Ginny took in a deep gasp of pain and clutched at her arm, pain searing through it.

Ron, Harry, Dean, Hermione - they all turned to face her, concerned. Ron walked over quickly, reaching out for Ginny's arm she was cradling against her chest. Ginny quickly pulled back away, letting her arm drop to her side, shaking her head quickly. "I'm fine," she told them quickly before they even had the chance to ask her. She glanced at Dean, who was staring right at her. Shivering, Ginny pushed past them and out through the portrait hole, trying to escape from all of them.

-_past-Draco_-

Ginny walked down the hall, afraid to look back. If she did, she knew she'd regret what she'd just agreed to. She already did, she thought as she crossed her arms across her chest to feel protected. Just the thought of him kissing her made her want to puke. The thought of his hands on her body again made her stomach turn. So why did she always give back in when he asked her not to give up on their relationship?

_Because I feel guilty_, she answered her own question. She'd slept with someone else; given an (once) anonymous Hogwarts student what she refused Dean all along. And once that was over, she still continued their little rendezvous in the hallways, in empty closets, in his _bedroom_. Anywhere he pulled her with him for a few extra minutes. _Why did it have to be Draco, of all the people at the Yule Ball_? Ginny asked herself over and over, but she never got an answer.

She never saw him in the halls. He long arm would just stretch out from nowhere and pull her into a nonexistent place. She was actually used to it by now, so when she felt her body jerk to the left into an abandoned classroom, Ginny let out a sound similar to a low growl. She couldn't chance being late to Potions again. Snape promised to give her back to back detentions of cleaning out his ingredients closets if she came in late one more time.

Yet, as he pressed her into the cold wall, Ginny let her books drop to the floor, like she always did. "Mmmm… she murmured, loosening his tie and sliding one hand around his neck, halfway into his shirt. She should feel guilty about everything she had with him, but she found that hard to do when he treated her body like he was currently.


	9. Inside I Realize

**Breaking The Habit**

By: Anti Darth Ani

Chapter Nine: Inside I Realize

-_past-Dean_-

Ginny moaned louder, never wanting him to stop. How was it fair for a guy to have so much power over her? It wasn't, when you thought about it. Oh well, she'd worry about it later. She grabbed the first thing her fingers grasped - the chain around his neck he hadn't taken off while undressing from his costume and mask. Ginny wasn't as fast to remove her clothes, especially since she couldn't remember where she was.

Now, he hovered above her, giving her everything a sixteen-year-old girl could ever want and more. Ginny pulled on his chain, yanking his head back down to hers. He rested his sweaty forehead on her damp one, his platinum hair mixing with her brown hair and his gray, cold eyes staring into her bright, brown ones.

_Oh God_, Ginny thought right as she felt ready to come. _Harry and Ron are going to kill me_.

---

Ginny gasped, sitting up straight in the bed. Just a dream, just a dream… she repeated over and over to herself in her mind. _It was all just a bad dream_. Ginny ran a hand through her knotted hair, shivering at the cold. She couldn't believe one of her roommates hadn't thrown a warming charm around the room before hitting the sack.

Actually, as Ginny glanced around the room, she realized she didn't recognize anything in the room. Gulping, Ginny looked down at the bed she woke up in, what she should have done first. Sprawled out of his stomach, head buried in the mass of pillows, Draco Malfoy slept next to her. _Oh no, oh no, oh no_… Ginny panicked, scrambling out of the bed without a second thought, trying to find her mask and her dress. _Wasn't a dream. Wasn't just a bad dream_. Ginny slipped into the dress frantically, afraid he would wake up before she could leave. _How the hell did this happen_?

Ginny recalled a steamy kiss the night before at the dance. The Quidditch hands, the cold eyes, that body against hers all night long. Ginny shook all the images out of her mind, pulling her hair into a quick ponytail. She managed to slip out of his room before he awoke. Holding her shoes in her hand, Ginny pushed the door from the common room open and slipped out into the dark halls of the lower levels of the school. Running as fast as she could barefoot, she hurried through the hallways, not stopping until she reached the Gryffindor common room.

She rattled off the password to the Fat Lady, who eyed her suspiciously. The portrait swung up as ordered, but she muttered something about the morals of the students these days as Ginny slipped into the dark common room. Upon Ginny's entrance, Lavender peered over the back of the couch, squinting at the door, trying to make out the figure looming there.

Ginny groaned inwardly. Of all the people in the Gryffindor house, _Lavender_ had to find her. Lavender, the biggest gossipier in the entire school. As Ginny stepped closer, she saw the twinkle in Lavender's eyes. "_Where_ in the _world_ have you been off to?" she whispered, giggling excitedly. "You're not going to make me guess, are you?"

She wouldn't make Lavender guess, no. But she wasn't going to tell the truth either. "I drank a wee bit too much last night and I woke up in the Ravenclaw common room this morning."

Lavender frowned, her eyes dimming. "The common room?" She flipped her long hair over her shoulder. "Really, Ginny, if you're going to get piss drunk, you might as well get _dirty_ as well. But little safe Weasley wouldn't be able to handle that, would she?" Lavender sneered, turning around to the magazine in her hands. "Amazing how many girl's I've found sneaking in this morning that I _never_ would have guessed," Lavender said off hand before shutting up and staring at the picture of a Muggle guy in a bathing suit.

-_present_-

"People…will…talk," he grunted word for word, punctuating each one as rhythmic as the last one. Ginny looked right into his gray eyes, loving the shivers he sent down her back when he looked at her in the serious way that he did. _Talk about what_? Ginny wondered to herself. _About my almost mental breakdown in the hallway? Or the way I ran out of the hallway at top speed? You can't mean that because you don't even **know** about my mental breakdown. Thank God_. Ginny ran a hand through his sweaty bangs, brushing them back- away from his forehead. _One of these nights while your sleeping I'm going to draw a lightning bolt on your forehead for kicks. Then we'll see how perfect you are, Mr. Malfoy_. Just the thought of it made Ginny want to giggle. _I could charm your hair black and steal Potter's glasses for you to wear_, her thoughts getting carried away.

He brought her back to reality when she felt his mouth at the inside of her thigh. Ginny moaned, resting her head back against the pillow. He always took his bloody sweet time, tasting and nipping at _everything_ and by the time he finally allowed her to do anything fun for herself, she was already spent beyond belief. "About…what?" she asked him in a quick pant, her voice getting higher at the end as he slipped his right index finger into her.

"You," he replied, slipping a second finger in to join his index finger, smirking at the animal-like sounds emitting from deep within her throat. The noises she made drove him on even harder and Ginny raked her fingers up and down his back, trying not to leave gashes because that would make him _mad_. She wasn't allowed to mark him as hers, never. She was a Weasley, after all, and no matter how pureblooded her family was, people never overlooked the red hair or the freckled face.

"Why?" she tried to ask calmly, but it came out as a gasp as he found one of her extremely sensitive spots. At that word, Draco's eyes shifted up to her face and he moved his fingers to the same exact place by memory, his eyes glued to her face. Ginny bit her lower lip, trying to show him it didn't affect her, but she was a horrible liar and it showed. A moan escaped from her mouth despite her efforts and she saw Draco smirk at her as he shifted his fingers, hitting the same fucking spot **again**.

"Because you didn't show up for classes yesterday," he told her, pulling his fingers out of her and running his hands up her waist, making her feel her own stickiness.

"And you're going to make me quite late for them today," she finished for him and he let out a low chuckle, slipping his finger into her mouth and forcing her to taste herself. Ginny stared right at him, running her tongue over his finger before wrapping her tongue around it and pulling it further into her mouth. She heard the soft moan from his mouth, which edged her on.

He regretfully pulled his finger back away, causing Ginny to pout at him, her swollen lips frowning down. He ran his hands back down her sides, cupping them around her breasts. Ginny arched into his touch as he teased her nipples. She rested her head against the side of his, her lips close to his ear. "I want to be on top, Draco," she murmured, running her tongue around his outer ear.

Draco moaned again, his hands sliding down to cup her butt instead. She wrapped her legs in his, using her weight to flip them over. Only when he got really worked up did he allow her to take control so forcefully. He, being a Malfoy, needed to be in control at all times. Yet, as the little redheaded Weasley ran her hands up his chest and wrapped them around his neck, she took control over everything at the moment, enough to drive any Malfoy family member crazy, especially Draco.

"Gin," he warned in a low moan as she ran her tongue over his bobbing Adam's apple. Ginny smirked, setting a sweet little kiss on his neck before resting her head in the crook of his neck, facing the little black freckle in the middle of his neck. It was placed right next to that vein that stood out every time he got really angry. Ginny nuzzled against it with her nose, loving the feeling she got when she realized that she may not know much about his life, but she knew _everything_ about his body.

"I'm so tired," she told him, her voice muffled by his skin. Draco ran one hand up her back, tangling it in her hair. She could feel his heart pounding against her chest, as he felt hers. "And I'm so fucking **sore**," she complained, kissing the little freckle she adored to no end.

She didn't have to look to know he was smirking at her. Draco shifted his head to look down at the top of her head. "Then go to sleep," he whispered against her forehead, his lips innocently resting against it.

With that, Ginny closed her eyes.

-_past-Draco_-

Where was she anyway? In Potions class? Sitting in the Great Hall, eating dinner? Out on the Quidditch field for practice? The last one seemed right. Ginny opened her eyes, looking down at the broomstick in her hand. Like she really wanted to get up and fall hundreds of feet in the air when all she could think about was _him_. And how the last Quidditch game in the season was in two days. _Why did Harry decided not to play Quidditch this year_? Ginny asked herself, walking out onto the Quidditch field behind Ron.

Even though the game was against Ravenclaw, Ginny didn't feel any better about the situation. He would be sitting in the stands with the rest of the Slytherin house, and she just knew he'd be watching her. How was she supposed to concentrate with his eyes watching her every move?

Ron turned around and looked at her when she stopped walking as they reached the entrance to the Quidditch field. From where she stood, she could see his eyes on her, all the way from across the pitch. _Why is he here now? Other teams aren't supposed to show up during practice_. Her heart sank as she watched him ease back into his seat, kicking his legs up on the bench in front of him, and raising an eyebrow as a challenge. Seamus, the team captain, cleared his throat in the middle of the field, which jerked Ginny out of her thoughts.

Seamus released the different balls and Ginny caught a brief glance of the Snitch as it zoomed off towards the stands. Not waiting around for the rest of the team, Ginny quickly mounted her broom and pushed off the ground before she thought twice about it. She had to prove herself to him now. She had to show him that she could, indeed, catch a little Golden Snitch. She could hear faint shuts of "Weasley!" from behind, but none of that mattered. She was in the air, where she felt like she actually belonged. The color of her hair and the amount of money her family had in the bank didn't matter up here, above the world.

She saw a flash of Draco's green robes as she flew by, trying to find the blasted little ball. The rest of her team joined her in the air, Seamus shouting out scenarios for them to work on. She pushed her broomstick faster, leaning forward to cut down on the air resistance. It was all about speed and precision in the end. She looped around the three goal rings, yelling at her brother to pay more attention as the Quaffle got through the goalpost. It headed right for Ginny, who pushed the front of her broomstick down and then spun her body sharply to the left, going into a spiraling dive.

She laughed her head off as she pulled back up only inches from the ground, skimming the fresh cut grass with her feet before climbing back up above the rest of her teammates' heads. As she circled above slowly, watching the action below, Ginny finally spotted the Snitch. She grinned when she saw it. What a perfect opportunity to get Draco back for those looks he'd been throwing at her all during practice.

Turning her broom around, Ginny gunned it as fast as she could. Even with the wind beating her red hair against her face, she saw his smirk fade away as he tried to figure out just what the hell she was doing. Surely she didn't plan to take him out in front of the rest of her team. Ginny grimaced as he swatted once at his ear. When he noticed she kept coming, Draco looked up, spotting the Snitch only two inches above his head.

He snatched it up with his own Seeker reflexes. Ginny pulled the top of her broomstick up as she got closer and closer to him. She stopped only a foot in front of his face, pulling her broom sideways to look at him. "Looking for something, Weasley?" he sneered, staring straight at her.

Ginny could feel the eyes of all her teammates on her back. Yet, at the same time, she saw those horribly beautiful gray ones looking right into hers. "Yes, I am," she whispered, pulling her broom even closer to him. She leaned so that her face was only a breath away. "I'm going to need that Snitch now, thank you very much."

Draco matched her glare, "And if I don't give it back? What will you do then, Weasley? Eat me?" he joked.

"Oh, it's not what I'll do, Malfoy," she countered. Stealing a quick glance over her shoulder to reassure her that no one was within earshot, Ginny looked right into his eyes. "It's what I **won't** do, Draco," she whispered.

When he heard this, his grip on the Snitch involuntarily loosened. Ginny grinned, snatching it out of his hand and spinning around on her broom, pushing it forward without a single glance back at a stunned Malfoy.

-_past-post Draco_-

Ginny sat alone at the single, long table in the Great Hall. The teachers sat at the further end, talking and laughing merrily, as was tradition on Christmas. Yet, Ginny felt everything but merry. She glanced down the table and saw Draco looking back at her. She noticed right away he'd changed out of the robes he's worn to her room the night before. For the first time in her entire life, Ginny saw Draco Malfoy in Muggle style clothing. And she admitted to herself that he looked _good_, in those faded jeans and a simple striped turtleneck.

Ginny rested her head on her hand, her elbow supporting it on the table. She stabbed at the sausage on her plate, but instead of eating it, she just watched him watch her. _What a way to spend Christmas_, Ginny thought to herself. _Staring at you're brother's and your friends' arch enemy and hoping he'll leap over the table and just take you on the wooden bench_. Draco smirked at her, almost as if he could read her mind and looked down at his food, shaking his head to himself.

She wanted to yell something rude at him, for she could only imagine what he was thinking in that little mind of his. But she decided against it when she saw Professor Dumbledore glancing over the top of his eyeglasses at her. Ginny mumbled something to herself, stabbing at the same piece of sausage again.

An arm wrapped around her shoulders as someone took a seat on the bench next to her. "Merry Christmas," that same person whispered in her ear, slipping a small, wrapped package in front of her. Ginny put her fork back down, the mutilated sausage attached to it. She glanced down the table to realize that Draco was staring at her again. But this time he looked different. Almost angry.

"Dean, I don't want your present," Ginny whispered, picking it back off the table and handing it to him. "I told you last week and I told you that yesterday. It just doesn't feel right to accept gifts from you when we…" Ginny trailed off, looking down at her lap.

"We're on a somewhat break, Ginny," Dean reminded her. "It's not as if we agreed never to talk again. So why can't I just give you a gift as a friend?" he asked, pushing the box back into her hand.

Ginny sighed, giving up the fight. Why did she want to give up a present so badly? Maybe because she felt guilty about it, or maybe because Draco was watching everything happening between her and Dean and she wanted to prove to him that there wasn't anything between the two of them anymore. Ginny tore apart the wrapping paper quickly and lifted the top of the box back.

Ginny let out a gasp that everyone in the Great Hall heard. She set the box down on the table, lifting out a gorgeous sliver necklace. The chain held a charm with two letters on it - a G and a W. "Oh Dean," she whispered.

"Let me put it on you," he told her, taking the chain out of her hands before she could protest. He brushed her hair over her shoulder, pulling the two ends of the necklace together and latching it. He pulled her hair back behind her head and kissed the side of her face. "Do you like it?" he asked softly.

So many different emotions ran through her at the same time. She wanted so badly to throw the necklace in his face, to yell at him that he couldn't bribe his way out of everything he'd done. But at the same time, she wanted him to push her up against the wall and give her a reason to be merry. "Dean, I… I really don't know what to say." She looked down at the charm, which twirled inside a suspended circle magically.

"The rate of the spin matches your heartbeat," he explained. "The faster your heart beats, the faster it spins around on the chain. Cool, right?" He flashed her a wonderful smile that made Ginny want to disappear into the ground.

"Thank you," she stammered. Ginny ran her fingers over the cool silver and forced herself to look Dean in the eye. "You really shouldn't have."

Dean tucked her hair behind her ear, "I want to prove to you that I'm sorry," he told her, wrapping his arm back around her shoulder. "I want to show you that you can trust me again."

"Buying me jewelry isn't going to get me to trust you again, Dean," she snapped softly. "Buying me a necklace doesn't make up for the fact that you slept with another girl after the Yule Ball."

He kissed her forehead, "I'm trying, Ginny. Okay? I'm trying to prove to you that I'm really sorry for what I did. So can you just remember that for me, please?"

Ginny nodded and Dean smiled, bringing her in for a quick kiss. At that exact moment, Ginny saw Draco walk past, his hand rubbing against her coat. He didn't need to leave her a note to let her know he meant to bump into her. Ginny pulled away from Dean and watched over his shoulder as Draco left through the double doors. As he turned to walk down the hallway, he sent Ginny another quick glance before disappearing.

"I need to go do some research for my Potions essay," she told him, picking at the sausage before sliding it off of her fork. She drank a sip of her water and turned back to face him. "I'll probably be a little while. How about I meet you back in the common room around two?"

"It's Christmas, Ginny," Dean complained. "Can't you write your essay tomorrow? You need to have a little fun."

Ginny smiled sweetly. "And we will have fun, at around two o'clock, once I've finished my research all of us can go outside and have a snowball fight."

Dean sighed, kissing her one more time as she slid off of the bench. Without saying a word, Ginny headed for the door. She noticed the look Professor McGonagall gave her, but she choose to ignore it as she hurried out of the doors. She noted how fast the charm was spinning in the circle on her necklace as she almost ran down the hallway, making her way to the door of the Slytherin common room.


	10. I'm The One Confused

**Breaking The Habit**

By: Anti Darth Ani

Chapter Ten: I'm The One Confused

-_past-post Draco_-

Ginny didn't slow down until she reached the door into the Slytherin house. Only then did she realize that she didn't know the password to get in. So she leaned against the wall, looking down at the necklace Dean gave her. She couldn't get over how hard he tried to get back together with her, over and over again. Yet, she just couldn't forgive him, because she didn't _want_ to be with him again.

"Morning, Princess," Draco sneered sarcastically, resting his hand next to her shoulder on the wall and closed her in, blocking all exits with his own body.

Ginny rested her head back against the wall, releasing the necklace in order to rest her hands on his shoulders, "Didn't you already say that to me once this morning?" she whispered. "Oh no, I remember your first words to me this morning. If I remember correctly, you said 'what the fuck do _you_ want'. Correct me if I'm wrong."

"That's just the first thing you heard, Weasley. I said some over stuff while you slept," Draco informed her, inching closer than ever, until his nose barely brushed up against her lips.

There was a silent pause in which Ginny kissed the tip of his nose softly, before standing up as straight as she could to brush her nose against his. "This… thing… between us has gotten out of hand," she whispered softly, yet the words were still too harsh for her to bare. "The time I don't spend with you, I spend _thinking_ about you," she confessed.

Draco grunted and pressed his lips against hers. The people in the closest portraits let out fake coughs and glared at them dangerously. Draco rested one hand on her waist, pulling her slowly in the general direction of the entrance to the Slytherin common room. He broke away from her just long enough to mumble the password and then his mouth was on hers again as he pushed her back into the common room and quickly towards his dormitory.

-_past-Dean_-

She saw him across the hall. Smirking at a joke Pansy whispered in his ear. Ginny bit her lower lip, forcing herself to look down at the plate in front of her. She should have sat down facing the other way, so she didn't need a constant reminder of what she had done the time before.

"Ginny," Dean smiled, sliding in next to her. "Sorry I'm late meeting you. Are you feeling any better, love?" he asked, kissing her forehead.

It took Ginny a second to understand what he was talking about. "Oh, yeah, I'm feeling a little better." She'd told him she wasn't feeling well after dancing with the masked man at the hall. She hoped to just escape up to her room for the rest of the night, to try to get him out of her mind, whoever he was, but he cornered her outside of the Great Hall. She wouldn't think about the rest of the night. Especially since, in a hurry to escape before he woke up, she'd left her thong in his room.

And it was her favorite one too. The one she played every single Quidditch game in. So, of course, she wanted it back. Ginny took a bite of her eggs. How the hell was she going to get it back? She could ask him for it, but then she'd be embarrassed. Plus, how would he react? He might just throw her through a window. Or into a wall.

It really didn't matter how she got it back. As long as she did. Ginny finished eating, without saying much to Dean. The owls came and went, dropping a copy of The Daily Prophet for Dean, which landed in his pumpkin juice. Ginny glanced up to try to cast a drying charm on the newspaper when she saw Draco heading out of the Great Hall. Alone.

Her chance to ask him quickly, without anyone knowing. Ginny looked down at her half eaten breakfast. She would pay for not finishing her meal the rest of the day while her stomach growled, but she had to get her thong back from Malfoy. She excused herself and Dean, tied up with trying to read his newspaper, gave her a simple wave goodbye.

She hurried out of the Great Hall, passing her brother and his friends before they could call for her to stop and chat. Ginny skidding to a halt in the hallway, searching for which way he'd gone. As she looked down the corridor to the left, she saw a flash of black robes.

Ginny hurried off after the person, hoping it was Draco because almost everyone else was still at breakfast. Classes didn't begin for a good half hour. The heels of her shoes clicked against the floor as she ran down the hall to catch up to him. As she turned the corner she'd seen him go to, Ginny looked straight and saw nothing and no one. Her heart sank and she hurried forward, not running anymore but walking quickly. Not only was he gone, but now she was lost because she hadn't paid any attention to the trail she'd followed him on.

_Damn it_, she cursed to herself, walking forward slowly now. Being alone in the halls brought back bad memories of Tom Riddle in her first year of Hogwarts. Something she never wanted to think about again. As she walked past McGonagall's classroom, something came around her neck from behind.

Ginny gasped at the sudden loss of air. Her hands came up, her fingernails digging into the flesh of whatever was holding her throat. She panicked and started kicking at the air, gasping for oxygen while trying to turn around to face her capturer.

She winced when she was slammed into the wall, but she gasped in air as the hand loosened around her neck. The hand on her throat grabbed the bottom of her chin, jerking her head to make her look up into the cold gray eyes of Draco Malfoy. "Didn't expect the littlest Weasley to be the one to stalk me in the halls."

Panic gave way to anger. She let out a small cough before looking right up into his eyes, matching his stare. And then she spit in his face. "Sod off, Malfoy," she spat, pushing him away from her with strength even she didn't know she obtained. "You don't have to try to kill me."

Draco wiped the spit away from his eye and frowned down at her. She wasn't the only one angry anymore. "Try that again Weasley," he dared, his face getting closer to her, "and you won't ever be able to open that annoying mouth of yours again."

"Just give me my thong back, Malfoy, and I'll be happen to leave you alone," Ginny retorted. She watched the look on his face change faster than an eclipse. Ginny nodded, looking right back up at him. "It's my Quidditch thong, Malfoy, and the first game of the season is tomorrow. I want it back."

"Why the hell would I have your thong, Weasley?" he asked, although Ginny knew he was figuring it out like she had earlier that morning. He was realizing that the reason he couldn't place the girl he's slept with was because she's transfigured her looks magically for the ball.

"I left it in your room when I left this morning," she whispered, then slipped away from him. She felt his eyes on her back and she went down the corridor she hoped led back to the Great Hall. Once she was sure he couldn't see her anymore, Ginny let out a shaky breath and rubbed at where he'd grabbed her throat.

-_past-post Draco_-

"Leave it on, Ginny," he snapped as she reached behind her to pull off the Christmas gift from Dean.

Startled, Ginny's hands froze as she looked right into his eyes. "Draco…" she started.

"I said leave it on," he ordered again, softer this time as he pulled her hands away from behind her neck and wrapped his fingers around hers. Ginny's breathing quickened as he settled himself over her.

"Why?" she whispered. Before they'd made their way into the bedroom, he'd been looking at the necklace like he wanted to burn it. He seemed to be looking at it in the same way, but he demanded for her to leave it on. Everything about his request confused her.

"Because I said so," he responded, his eyes staring into hers as they lay on their sides, facing each other. She glanced down at the necklace and noted how fast it spun around in an orbit inside it's globe shaped covering.

Ginny reached out to him, wrapping a hand around his neck. She pulled him closer to her, but they stayed side by side. "I don't love him," she whispered softly, trailing her hand from his neck to his arm. She traced his Death Eater mark lightly with the tips of her fingers. Shifting unrepentantly, Ginny rolled over until she faced the other way. She pulled his arm up over her side and onto the pillow in front of her face. Glancing out the slightly opened window, Ginny saw the snow, illuminated only by the light from the moon.

"He's probably jerking his hair out of his head trying to figure out where I am." Ginny smiled at the picture of Dean, waiting for her in the common room. At two thirty, he'd probably headed down to the library to get her, thinking she'd lost track of time. And then when he didn't find her there, Ginny just knew he'd freaked out. Luckily, no one knew about the two of them together, so he wouldn't find her.

_Except Hermione knows now_, Ginny reminded herself. _And if push comes to shove, she's going to join forces with Harry and Ron, not me. And Harry and Ron will join Dean_. Ginny let out a small little humming noise when Draco pulled her back, flush against his chest. She fit so perfectly with him that she couldn't image having to give up their secret 'relationship'. Ginny noted the flesh on her arm didn't look as red as it had in the past week. Actually, it looked a lot better than she'd seen it since she'd gotten it.

"Where did you get the potion for my arm?" she asked, switching the subject away from her issues with Dean. She felt him move around behind him, heard the rustle between his head and the pillow. "Nicked it from Snape's office," he told her. And he sounded proud about it too.

"And why would Snape ever need to make a potion like this one?" Ginny asked, reaching further. For an actual conversation with him maybe.

Draco smirked behind her, resting the side of his head against hers. "Seeing as how your brother's part of the Golden Trio, I can't believe they've never even told you," he told her softly.

"Told me what?" Ginny questioned, bringing his arm tighter around her and entwining her fingers with his. He was too eager to know something her brother wouldn't let her to complain about her claim on his arm.

"Professor Snape was a Death Eater," Draco muttered against her ear, shifting behind her to try to get a better feeling in his arm. "When the Dark Lord sends his message to Snape, the pains unbearable because Snape can't deal with the Dark Lord's great powers anymore. He's not as strong as the rest of us."

Ginny shivered. "The rest of us?" Ginny whispered, her voice trembling. If he heard her, he didn't show it. Instead, his eyes closed and he tried to fall asleep. Ginny looked from his arm to hers. Their marks were identical, from a single slash above the rest of the design to the extra eye given in an odd angle. She wasn't a Death Eater and she had the mark. Her arm burnt while he slept peacefully. Could he possibly be as innocent as she was? Or was he in fact a Death Eater?

Ginny didn't what to know the truth.

-_present_-

When Ginny woke up again, she wasn't in her bed with Draco. Draco was with her, awake but silent, sitting against a wall. They were both dressed, but they weren't in their normal clothes and Ginny almost gagged when she took in a breath of the foul odors from around them. Ginny pulled herself up to a sitting position and scrambled up onto her knees. She glanced at Draco first and noticed his eyes were closed and he wasn't moving at all. "Draco?" she whispered, her voice shaking with fear and confusion.

When he didn't answer, Ginny crawled closer to him until she had a better look at him. He, like she, was dressed in rags. A long, deep gash ran down the side of his face, dried blood covering his cheek. His hair looked worse for the wear, filled with dirt and blood. Ginny reached out to him, clinging onto his arm. "Draco," she whispered again urgently. Nothing was right. She didn't recognize anything around her and the last thing she could remember was falling asleep on top of him in her bed.

He didn't blink, didn't move an inch. A small tear slid out of Ginny's eye before she even knew it was there. She crawled in between his legs, which spread out in front of him. "Draco, please," she begged, choking on a small sob when he still didn't respond. "You have to be okay," she said, more to make herself feel better than for his benefit. She brushed back his dirty hair, looked at the mud on his forehead. She knew she had to look just as bad, if not worse, than he did. But she was moving. She knew she was alive.

"Come on, give me something, Malfoy," she ran her trembling fingers down to his neck, trying to find his pulse somewhere, "anything, Draco." She felt a beating, but it was faint. She sank down into a sitting position in his lap, exhaustion taking over. "Wake up," she whispered. "You have to wake up." She felt eleven again, helpless and alone in the Chamber of Secrets. She knew she wasn't there, but this place was just as bad.

He moved a bit behind her, letting out a small groan. Ginny looked back up to his face as he slowly opened his eyes. "Oh thank God," Ginny gasped, crying softly. She threw her arms around his neck, burying her head against his shoulder. "Thank God," she repeated, pulling him as close as possible.

"Take… off…" he gasped, his voice wheezing as he tried to communicate with her. Ginny pulled back to look at him closely. "Take off what, Draco? Take what off?" she pushed him, needing him to answer.

"…Gin…" he gasped, then shut his eyes in pain and Ginny saw his Death Eater mark light up. Ginny's whole body trembled as she watched him. "Oh, Draco," she cried, covering her mouth in horror and letting a few more tears fall.

"Gin… take…" he managed to say in between gasps of pain. Ginny shook her head, looking at him, away from his bleeding mark. "What do I need to take, Draco? You got to give me something more."

"…chain…" he told her before screaming in a hoarse voice as the cut on his face opened up suddenly. Ginny looked around for restraining chains. She couldn't find any. Her vision blurred from the tears, not believing any of this could possibly be real. It killed her to watch him in so much pain. Never in her life had she wanted so much to tell him she loved him.

"What chain, baby?" she asked. "I don't see a chain."

Draco's eyes squeezed shut again and his head banged back against the wall as he screamed louder. His hand shot out and grabbed hers. Ginny gasped as the sudden movement. The feel of his sticky blood transferring from his hand to hers made her sick. He pulled her hand close to him. He rested it on his chest and then yanked his hand away as it began to burn.

An image flashed through her mind of the first night they'd spent together at the Yule Ball. She remembered pulling on the chain he wore around his neck to bring him down to her. Frantically, Ginny pushed away the rags covering his chest. She saw the golden chain shinning on his chest, which had numerous bleeding cuts on it. Ginny reached out to pull it off, but it felt like fire as soon as she touched it. Ginny gasped, yanking her hand away.

But as she watched Draco writhe in pain, she took in a deep breath and snatched the chain into her hand. She ignored the searing pain in her hand and on her arm where the mark was and she quickly pulled the chain off of his neck and threw it to the side.

Her arm stopped hurting and he stopped screaming, but her hand continued to burn. She looked down at the redness of it and groaned. Draco pulled himself up to a better sitting position and opened his eyes. "Gin," he muttered, reaching out to wrap his arm around her shoulders. He tried to pull her up against him, but he didn't have the strength left to.

Ginny half crawled, half slid up against Draco's chest, sobbing. She grabbed the rags on his chest with her good hand. "Don't ever scare me like that again," she demanded, relived to no end.

"Shh. It's going to be okay now," he whispered. "It'll be okay now."


	11. Worth Fighting For

**Breaking The Habit**

By: Anti Darth Ani

Chapter Eleven: Worth Fighting For

-_past Dean_-

Ginny was almost to the Gryffindor common room when he came up behind her and grabbed her hand. Ginny spun around, after jumping a foot in the air, and looked into his angry eyes. "I don't know where you get off Weasley," he hissed under his breath, his eyes constantly dodging from left to right. "But whatever happened between us last night cannot happen again." He pulled her a little closer and stared right down at her. "Do you understand?"

Ginny leaned in even closer, "Do you have my thong or not, Malfoy?" she whispered, her eyes darting from his eyes to his lips. "Because if you don't, you really don't need to waste anymore of my time."

Even as he pulled the silky object out of the pocket of his robe, Ginny didn't care about the little garment anymore. All she could think about was the way he had felt to her the night before, before she realized what she was doing and **who** she was doing it with. Now, all Ginny Weasley wanted was to feel the same way again. When she didn't take the thong from his hand, Draco rolled his eyes and put it into the pocket of her robe for her.

His hand didn't retract away from the robe. His eyes closed and he pressed his forehead against hers. Ginny licked her lips right before his mouth came crushing down onto hers, causing Ginny to moan with want.

-_past-post Draco_-

Ginny spent the rest of the Christmas break locked up in the common room with Hermione, who forced them all to work on their homework before having any fun. Once classes started back up, Ginny's friends pulled her back into her normal circle. She spent the first week of classes just trying to remember who got what for Christmas and which of her friends had broken things off with their boyfriends (and which had already found new ones). They pressed her for details about the mysterious new guy she had, but Ginny refused to answer.

And Hermione was driving her crazy. She didn't tell Ron or Harry about catching Ginny with Draco in the hall, at least not to Ginny's knowledge, but the year was only half over and she was finding it harder to stay away from him. Every time they saw each other in the halls, the both of them would suddenly slip out of view and into an empty room or broom closet.

And Dean was a whole other problem. He kept pressing her to get back together with her, the necklace hanging around her neck as a constant reminder of what he wanted to exist between him. _The necklace_, Ginny thought, looking down at the spinning circle around her neck. Oh how she wanted to throw it into the lake or simply make it disappear. Dean liked to brag about what a great gift he'd gotten her for Christmas. And Draco got that look in his eyes every single time they had sex, in which he forced her to wear it. She knew he loved to watch the speed of it increase rapidly right before she climaxed, but his obsession with the necklace became too much for her. He didn't even pay attention to her anymore, just stared at the blasted piece of metal.

Ginny slammed her Potions book closed with obvious frustration. Several of the other students in the library shifted in their seats to shoot her a warning look, but Ginny just wrinkled her nose at all of them. _I wonder if Muggles ever have to deal with as many problems as I have right now_, she thought silently, stacking her books up in a short pile. _They don't have to worry about their… Draco ripping off their charmed gift that their boyfriend gave them_. She still hadn't figured out what to define Draco as. Just calling him something of hers, such as "Ginny's amazing sex buddy," as Lavender put it, seemed wrong.

Ginny slipped out of her chair. Picking up her books, she headed out of the library, her head hanging a little low so no one would stop her to chat with her. She just wanted to be alone in the common room so she could make as much noise as she wanted slamming her books and ripping up her failed essay attempts. As Ginny walked down the hall, she was pulled into a dark corridor. Lips found the bare skin on her neck and Ginny winced. After the night before, she figured Draco would leave that part, one of the numerous bruised parts of her body, alone.

"Dr-" she started, but she noticed that the person didn't smell like Draco. Ginny yanked away quickly, stumbling as she tried to turn around to face him. Ginny's jaw dropped when she saw the way Dean was staring at her. "Where did you get all those hickies?" he asked, and Ginny could tell he wasn't pleased.

"Dean," she stammered. "Please don't ever sneak up on me like that again."

"You've been seeing someone else," he put the pieces of the puzzle together, ignoring what she'd just said. "No wonder you shun me away every time I try to get you to commit to us again." His voice was rising decibel by decibel.

"Dean, please keep your voice down," Ginny begged, pushing him back further into the dark. "I really don't know what to say to you right now, but I swear that-"

"I want the necklace back, Ginny," he suddenly demanded.

Ginny pulled her hand back away as if she'd been stung. "Dean…" she started, but she saw the look in his eyes which told her to count it as a blessing. Ginny quickly pulled off the necklace and handed it to him. As soon as the clasp came apart, the circle stopped spinning and laid lifelessly in Dean's hand and Ginny looked up at him. Shaking her head slowly, she turned around and walked away.

-_present_-

"How are we going to get out of here?" Ginny asked, sitting down against the wall next to Draco, her legs pulled up to her chest. "And where is here? How is it possible that your chain can possess enough evil to hurt you like that?" Ginny's eyes glanced back at his chest. "Are you feeling any better? I can try again with your wand to make them heal a little faster but…" she already had his wand back in her hand when he sat up a little straighter and grabbed her wrist gently, making her drop the wand and place her palm flat against his bare chest.

"You're giving me a headache, Weasley," he complained, closing his eyes and leaning his head all the way back.

"I talk a lot when I'm nervous," she told him without thinking. Looking over at him, Ginny traced some of the larger cuts with her fingers. "I really could try to heal them some more."

Draco shook his head without opening his eyes, "I think you've done enough damage for one day."

Ginny bit her tongue to hold back a crude remark. "It's not my bloody fault your wand is screwed up," she snapped, pulling her hand back away from him. "And anyways, Malfoy, some help is better than none at all."

"Not when that help causes the wounds to open back up and start bleeding freely again," Draco shot back.

Ginny got onto her feet, "Shove it, Malfoy," she hissed. "Maybe if you hadn't joined Voldemort in the first place, none of this would have even happened. It's your own fault you know!!!"

Draco stared up at her, amazed that she dared to speak his name out loud. Only the foolish and the brave spoke the name of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. "I didn't ask to be brought here, Malfoy!" She wasn't yelling, but she was pacing around, her hands shaking and her chin trembling from fear. "I would much rather be safe at Hogwarts in my nice, warm bed than stuck in this hell hole with you. And we don't even know where we are!" she was becoming hysterical now, her good hand flinging around dramatically.

Draco pushed his back up against the wall, using the pressure to slowly ease himself up. He winced at pain, but he was determined to get up onto his feet. "What if no one finds us? What if this huge snake comes out of no where and gobbles us right up? No one's ever going to come looking for us. And even if they do, they'll never find us here, where ever here is!"

"Weasley…" he hoisted himself up onto his legs and took a few wobbly steps towards her. Ginny stared at him and grabbed his elbows, steadying him. "Why are you standing up? You need to sit down, let your body rest and heal."

"Ginny, you need to calm down," he whispered. "Being frantic isn't going to get us out of here any sooner."

"Draco, sit back down _now_." She tried to lower him back to the floor, but he reached out and touched the side of her face, causing her to stop and look right into his eyes.

"Stop crying, Gin," he murmured and for the first time, Ginny realized water was sliding out of the corner of her eyes. Ginny held back a small sob, keeping eye contact with him. "I was so worried about you, Draco," she cried. "I've told you before that this… relationship… between us has gotten out of hand."

Ginny let him pull her closer to him. He rested his chin against the top of her head. "It's not even about the sex anymore," she muttered, wrapping her good arm around him, her burnt and swollen hand hanging limply by her side. "I love you, Draco," Ginny whispered against his neck before kissing that sole freckle on his neck.

-_past-Draco_-

The Quidditch game was over before it even began. Ginny caught the Snitch five minutes into the game. No one was in a celebrating mood, since they didn't win the Quidditch Cup, and after standing in the rain for an hour waiting for the game, students were upset that it was over already. Still, upon entering the common room, Ginny smiled when she saw all the colorful banners hanging up all over the room.

"Brilliant Ginny!" Harry complimented, kissing her on the cheek before sliding into his usual corner with Hermione and Ron. Ginny shook her head and watched the rain fly out of it. Seamus tossed a dry towel at her, with she caught with ease and used to mop hopelessly at her hair with. She was drenched to the bones, shivering even, despite the fire blazing in the fireplace.

Deciding to get her shower out of the way, Ginny ran up the stairs to her dormitory and grabbed a pair of clean, dry clothes. She stopped at the top of the stairs to be congratulated by Lavender, who hadn't even attended the game, under the pretense that she wasn't feeling well. But Ginny knew that Michael hadn't been at the game either and, since Cho had graduated the previous year, he'd moved on to another Gryffindor student.

Ginny slipped out of the common room without anyone asking her where she was going. They were all talking about the next Hogsmeade trip, which Ginny didn't plan on attending, since she didn't want to have to spend the whole day away from Hogwarts with Dean. Ginny voiced the password when she reached the prefects' bathroom. The door slid open and Ginny slipped inside the dimly lit room.

Peeling off her Quidditch robes, Ginny turned the knobs on the bathtub to extremely hot. She also decided to go for the rose scented bubbles tonight. Something about the smell of flowers always seemed to calm her down a bit, even after a really easy win. As Ginny slipped her shirt off of her head and threw it into the pile with the robes, a voice whispered in her ear, "You owe me, Weasley."

Startled that someone else was in the bathroom, Ginny jumped a little and turned around. "Draco," she let out a small puff of air in relief. "You really shouldn't sneak up on people like that, you know. Wouldn't want to give anyone a heart attack, would you?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he stepped closer to her and decided to help her out of her clothes quicker.


	12. Scream

**Breaking The Habit**

By: Anti Darth Ani

Chapter Twelve: Scream

Wanted to let you know real quick before I start this chapter that I've finished the _past Dean_ part of my story. If you go back to the beginning and read all the way through it, and then go back to the beginning and read through the _past Draco_, they should join right together. That's my goal, anyways. Thanks :P

-_present_-

Ginny watched as Draco picked up his wand slowly. She knew it hurt him just to reach out, not to mention bend down, but he refused her help with anything. He had to be the macho man to get them out of their current situation. Ginny pushed back her dirty hair and watched him, biting her lower lip. She hadn't meant to tell him that she loved him, it had simply spilled out. Following his behavior change, Ginny knew he wasn't exactly comfortable with her confession. "Draco, what I said earlier-"

"I think I got the spell to use," he cut her off before she could finish. Eyeing the ground, he continued, "You're wearing your knickers, aren't you?"

Ginny stared at him, wondering if she had heard him correctly. "Yeah, I'm wearing my knickers." She paused and raised a single eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because showing up at the Malfoy mansion in just a rag isn't going to cut it," he told her, finally look up at her. "Come over here so I get you in the spell too."

Ginny stayed rooted to her spot on the filthy floor. "Draco… no." Draco ignored her, pulling her close and holding his hand out, pointing his wand at both of them. "NO!" she yelled, but he already muttered the spell by the time she got the word out.

---

When Ginny stopped screaming, she was standing in the second biggest room she'd ever been in (the biggest being the Great Hall). This room, however, remained much more elaborate than anything at Hogwarts. Swallowing, Ginny shut her mouth and glanced over at Draco, who whistled loudly. Wincing at the noise, Ginny saw a short little House Elf stagger into the room.

"Yes, young Master?" the House Elf asked in a squeaky voice, lowering his head until it almost touched the floor.

"Take care of her," Draco demanded, indicating towards Ginny. "And make sure my father and I are not disturbed." Draco started to head away. Ginny reached out for him, but he was too far away for her grasp.

"Young Ma…Master," the House Elf trembled. "My master is not home right now. He is away on… business."

Draco nodded, turning back to face them. "In that case, go up to the guest suite and start a warm bath for the lady. With rose bubbles." Ginny smiled, touched that he remembered.

The House Elf nodded and disappeared with a snap of his finger. Ginny turned to Draco, her hands hugging herself to keep from shivering. "Why are we here? Why can't we go back to Hogwarts where it's safe?"

Draco walked up to her. "We need to fix you up a bit first." He gently took her hand in his and turned it over, palm facing up. "We need to mend your hand." He looked her straight in the eyes, "And I need some answers."

"We are going back, right? Sooner, rather than later?" She suddenly missed the protection she'd complained to her brothers about for her entire life. Now, all she wanted was to have Fred and George sit on either side of her on her bed and read her a bed time story while her father checked for dementors again in her closest and under her bed.

"Gin…" Draco started, but Ginny shook her head, stepping away. "They're going to be worried about me. I need to get back. I need to tell them that I'm alright."

"In due time, you will. But for now, we need to figure how who got us there and how they did it. Then we can go back," Draco stated.

"Can't you do that by yourself? You don't need me to talk to your father, Draco-" Ginny continued to ramble, but Draco cut her off by placing a finger to her lips.

"I don't expect you to understand, Ginny. But you have to trust me for now. I'll get this all figured out."

Ginny swatted his hand away, "You've given me no reason to trust you! You've all but kidnapped me and brought me to your house where you're holding me prisoner. How do I know that you weren't the one that put us in that cave in the first place?"

"Ginny, you need to understand-"

"Just stop it!" she snapped back. "I need to see my brothers. Now!!!! I need to see Fred and George. You can't keep me here forever, Malfoy." Ginny looked up at him and sighed, reaching up and barely grazing his face. "I… I didn't mean to snap at you. The last thing I want to do is upset you. I do trust you, Draco. I just need to be with someone who can comfort me right now. And for as long as I've breathed, Fred and George have always been the ones to take care of me."

"Soon, Weasley. I'll make arrangements, I promise. But until then-"

Ginny grinned, leaning in closer to him. "I do believe there is a bubble bath upstairs a calling me little old name." Ginny spun around and walked slowly to the grand staircase. She walked up the steps slowly, feeling very foolish and extremely dirty, her entire body caked in mud and dirt. When she reached the top of the stairs, Ginny turned around and faced Draco, smiling down at him. She didn't know why she had told him she loved him, but suddenly it didn't matter. Now he knew. And the ball was in his court.

---

After her long, remarkable bubble bath, Ginny slipped out of the tub, wrapping herself in the plush towel waiting for her on the top of the golden toilet seat. She glanced around the large bathroom until she spotted a pair of robes on the very end of the counter. Ginny walked over, picking them up carefully in her arms, dropping the bottom to let it become it's normal shape in front of her.

Ginny let out a low whistle. The one robe in front of her cost as much as her entire wardrobe combined. Reluctantly, Ginny pulled on the robe. She grinned when she looked at herself in the mirror. Typical Malfoy and his green and black robes. Pulling off her beaded bracelet Hermione had given her for her birthday the year before last, Ginny used it to tie her hair up in a neat bun.

She still couldn't believe he'd brought her to his house; no his **mansion**. Crossing her arms across her chest, Ginny examined herself in the mirror. The reflection looked as plain as ever, with the bright hair and the pale skin. Nothing special, like Lavender's natural curve or Hermione's radiant smile. Just little old Ginny Weasley. So how had she ended up in a bathroom in the Malfoy mansion?

Ginny knew her life would never be normal again. There was a time when she'd have given anything to be noticed by a popular wizard, like Harry Potter. Now, Ginny just wanted to sink into the floor and fall back into her bed at the Burrow. _The world's much too big a place for a simple little Weasley_. Her mother's mother always repeated that, ashamed of Arthur Weasley and his family. But Molly Weasley had looked past Arthur wealth status. Ginny didn't know if she would ever be able to see Draco as just another wizard. _He's a bloody Malfoy_.

"Thinking about me, are we?" a voice whispered against her ear. Startled, Ginny jumped a little and calmed down when she saw Draco's reflection behind hers in the mirror.

"You may be thinking about yourself, Malfoy, but I'm thinking about my brothers," she lied easily. All the Weasley children knew how to lie better than they knew how to tell the truth. With half a dozen siblings, it was always easy to find someone to blame it on besides yourself. "And I was wondering when I'd be getting back to Hogwarts."

"Soon," he told her, staring at her in the mirror. Ginny looked back at her reflection and saw the same thing she had seconds before when he wasn't with her. "How did this happen?" he asked her suddenly, brushing her wet hair back behind her shoulder to bend down and rest his chin on her shoulder. He kissed her neck softly. "How did _we_ happen?" he murmured against her neck.

"We?" Ginny responded, still staring at herself in the mirror. She didn't want to be here with him anymore. She wanted to be at home with her family, in the place where she recognized everything and didn't have to worry about crazed Death Eaters coming after her to kill her in order to allow the Dark Lord to become more powerful. "There's only a you and a me here, Malfoy," she whispered, pulling away from the contact of his lips on her skin, turning and walking slowly out of the room.

"Funny," Draco called after her, "since you say you love me so much."

Ginny shook her head. "I confused love with something else," she lied, trying to hide the tears as she walked further away from him.

"What?" he called after her.

Ginny stopped and looked over her shoulder at him. "Fear."

-_past-post Draco_-

Ginny woke up with a splitting headache. Immediately, she felt like she was going to throw up. Stumbling into the bathroom, she reached the toilet right before she was greeted by her previous night's dinner. The retching sound carried through the empty room until she'd lost everything her stomach hadn't digested during the night. Resting her arms on the rim of the toilet seat, Ginny groaned, willing the pain in her head to go away.

Dark circles swam around in the bright white light in her vision. Everything else was simply a huge blur to her, the round edges of one object running into another. Squinting, Ginny tried to remember what she had eaten the night before. Then she realized she hadn't made it down to dinner because after the Quidditch game she'd been sidetracked by a certain Slytherin and all thoughts of food had been forgotten.

For lunch she had eaten a bowl of noodles in a sauce she hadn't recognized. And she couldn't remember back far enough to remember breakfast. So, whatever she had eaten most likely wasn't causing her sudden sickness.

For a terrifying moment, Ginny thought she might be pregnant. The thought would have made her throw up all over again if she hadn't already emptied her stomach's contents. Ginny scrambled frantically into a standing position. She took a few uneven steps towards the door of the bathroom, but she quickly sank back down and leaned back over the toilet. _Oh, no_, Ginny thought to herself, squeezing her eyes shut as she let go of her remaining food contents. _I can't be pregnant. Not with a Malfoy baby_.

Ginny heard a soft knock on the bathroom and then Hermione's bushy head popped halfway into the room. She wrinkled her nose up once she caught a whiff of the smell. "Ginny?" she gasped, pushing her way into the room and kneeling down beside her friend. She held back Ginny's hair while Ginny barfed into the toilet, her throw up mixing with the tears falling from her eyes.

"It's impossible," Ginny whispered as softly as she could. "No way in the world. I mean, I didn't think about birth control… everything happened so fast. But still, there's no way I can be pregnant…"

"Ginny, what are you talking about?" Hermione asked, pulling Ginny back and helping her lean against the wall.

"Hermione…" she groaned, hanging her head down and covering her mouth with the back of her hand. "I need you to perform a pregnancy charm for me," Ginny whispered, afraid to meet her friend's eye. "I don't know what I'm going to do if I really am… I mean, I've never even thought about the possibility of getting pregnant."

"Are you going to tell him?" Hermione asked, already pulling out her wand to think of the charm to do. "If you are, I mean."

Ginny shook her head, "No. And you can't either. Promise me you won't, okay?"

Hermione just nodded.

-_present_-

Ginny walked through the towering halls of the Malfoy mansion and she still couldn't find her way to the front doors. She should have paid more attention to where the house elf had lead her, but Ginny had been so caught up in the idea of a nice, cleansing shower that she didn't even think that she'd need to escape.

But now she needed to get away from him. Water pools were collecting in her eyes and she couldn't manage the idea of having to face again. She wanted to get back to Hogwarts- to the teachers, her friends, and her brother. She wanted to be protected again, from what she still didn't know.

Ginny screamed when something grabbed her from behind. She'd been so wrapped up in her thoughts she was more lost than ever. Kicking, Ginny tried to pull away, but when she managed to turn around to face her capture, nothing was there. Freezing, Ginny stopped moving and forced herself to breathe. The last thing she needed was a panic attack.

Turning around, Ginny gasped, surprised to see Draco standing right in front of her, his arms crossed over his chest and his black hood covering all but the shadows on his face. He stepped closer to Ginny and Ginny let out a little pout of air, tugging herself backwards but not getting anywhere.

"I didn't want to do this," he hissed, getting closer and closer. Ginny let out a little whimper. They'd been 'together' for months now, and she'd never really been scared of him before. But as he got closer, Ginny realized she'd never been more afraid in her entire life. Once he was close enough to reach out and touch her, the mark on her arm began to twinge in pain.

"Draco, what's happened to you?" Ginny cried, pushing against the invisible wall behind her, trying to get away. He reached out and his fingers latched around her neck. The tears began to fall down her cheeks, "Draco…" she whispered. He didn't grip her neck tightly, but it still stung a little and the pain in her arm was increasing. Ginny gave up fighting and stood still, taking a deep, shaky breath, "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I have to protect you," he told her and then Ginny saw and felt nothing but darkness.


	13. I Don't Know Why

**Breaking The Habit**

By: Anti Darth Ani

Chapter Thirteen: I Don't Know Why

This is the last chapter everyone. It's going to be a long one, I promise, and it will answer **most** of your questions. I'm fully planning to put out the same story from Draco's POV as soon as I finish writing Seven Minutes In Heaven, the other Draco/Ginny fan-fic I'm currently writing. It will be almost completely different, as you will see the entire story from Draco's side of things, not Ginny's (which means it will most definitely be darker… hehehe). But the plot will be the same. And you will finally figure out where the Dark Marks came from.

Thank you to **EVERYONE** who read and/or reviewed my story. I loved all of your input and you guys made writing this story such a joy. I'm hoping to be writing more Draco/Ginny works after this one, although I have a lot on my plate right now and a bunch of other great story ideas. Check them out at http: Thanks so much!

-_present_-

When Ginny woke up, she wasn't in the hallway anymore. Pulling herself up into a sitting position, Ginny squinted in the darkness to try to figure out her surroundings. Her head throbbed but her arm didn't hurt anymore. She felt the softness of the Egyptian cotton sheets under her hands and Ginny straightened up into a better sitting position. "Hello?" she whispered. She feared she was back into that horrible hell hole again. Or even worse, that she was blind.

Panic took over her entire body. "Draco?" she half screamed, choking on a sob. She felt something wrap around her hand and Ginny immediately jerked back. The _thing_ didn't let go and Ginny yanked harder.

"Gin…" someone complained, maybe from the fact that she was pulling their arm out of the socket. "Calm down," the voice mumbled to her.

Ginny sank back down into the most comfortable sheets she'd ever felt, "What am I doing here? And why can't I see one blasted thing?"

Draco muttered something under his breath and the room was instantly lighter. Two dozen floating candles lit around the four corners of his room. Ginny had thought his dormitory at Hogwarts had been impressive; his room at home blew her off her feet. She was surrounded by everything black - black walls, black dresser, a black bed. Even the sheets were black.

Ginny leaned back against the pillows, "So why am I here?" She turned her head to face him and let out a weak grin. "Because you need to 'protect' me?"

Draco turned onto his side to face her, propping his head up on his arm. "Even if I could explain to you, which I'm not allowed to do, you still wouldn't understand."

Ginny turned to face him as well. "Why don't you try to explain to me and let me be the judge of that?"

Draco smirked at her. "You're almost as stubborn as I am, Weasley."

Ginny leaned over Draco, causing him to rest back further onto the mass amount of pillows. She brushed her lips against his and let out a tiny moan. Draco tucked his hands under his head and let Ginny run a trail of kisses down his chin and throat. "We really shouldn't…" he trailed off as she bit his neck playfully.

"What's the matter, Draco? Never done it in your own bedroom before?" Ginny teased, snuggling her head into the crook in his neck.

"These sheets cost more than your entire house, Weasley," he informed her, glancing down at her forehead.

"And I assure you that they are well worth it," Ginny giggled, running her hand over his chest and running her toes along the mattress. Ginny pulled herself up more towards the headboard and rested her head next to his ear. "Tell me why," Ginny whispered, nipping at his earlobe. "Pppllleeeaaassseee…"

Draco really looked at her, for the first time ever. Ginny swallowed the large lump in her throat as his eyes bore right into her soul. He reached out, his fingers ice cold against her skin, and pushed loose strands of her hair out of her face, "If they found out that I told you…" Draco paused and just looked at her. "They'd kill you."

"Who would kill me? And why would they bother?" Ginny let him tower over her this time.

"Because we're not allowed to love," he whispered. His mouth captured hers for a moment and as he pulled away, Ginny leaned off the bed, trying desperately to keep the familiar contact between them.

"Do you love me, Draco?" Ginny asked, almost afraid of the answer.

Draco looked down at her and bit his lip. "Maybe I do after all," he smirked and with that, Ginny pulled him down onto her.

-

Ginny awoke to load banging noises. Once she managed to wriggle out from under Draco, who had fallen asleep on top of her, Ginny slipped out of the bed. She quickly picked up the first item of clothing she spotted, which just happened to be Draco's black robe. Grinning to herself, Ginny slipped her arms in and then pulled the rest of it around her. _It's not fair that everything he owns is so damn soft_.

Ginny heard a clanging sound again and she headed in the direction of the door, because she knew the sound was coming from somewhere else. She vaguely heard Draco snap her name out, but she slipped into the hallway instead of listening to him. Squinting at the bright lights in the rest of the house, Ginny pulled the hood up above her head to block some of the lights.

She heard the noise again and Ginny followed its origin down the long hallway. There she could hear rapid talking, angry voices, and the banging louder than ever. Crouching down and sliding against the wall, Ginny peered around the corner, where she could look down onto the first floor of the house.

Ginny immediately recognized Draco's father. But she didn't know who the other person was, and yet they looked oddly familiar. Ginny gasped as someone pulled her away. "What they hell are you doing?" Draco hissed. Ginny opened her mouth to speak, but at the same moment Draco Apparated both of them back into his bedroom. "If they caught you spying on them-"

"What is Percy doing here?" Ginny demanded, pulling his robe tighter around her. Draco clamped up at the mention of her brother's name. "Oh God-" Ginny whispered, covering her mouth with her hand and shaking her head. "You knew!" she cried. "Damn it, you knew and you didn't tell me!"

"Ginny, wait a sec-" he broke off in mid sentence as Ginny pulled his wand out of the pocket of his robes and pointed it between his eyes. "All you do is lie!" she yelled. "Nothing but lies!"

"Ginny, what your brother does in his free time is none of my business. And it's none of your business either."

Ginny actually pressed the tip of his wand against his skin, "If my brother decides he wants to join the Death Eaters, than yes, Draco, it _is_** my** business." She was determined not to cry again. "If he wants to get himself blasted to death, fine by me. But he can't just turn against everything our family's worked for. Our reputation would be ruined if anyone found out."

"Now that's a little hypocritical of you, isn't it Ginny? I mean, you have the Death Eater mark, so that could clearly hurt your family's reputation," Draco shot back.

"I didn't choose to get this mark, Malfoy, and I certainly would never join the Death Eaters. I've sacrificed **_everything_** in these past months. I snuck around the castle at night, I threatened my relationship with my _boyfriend_, I lied to my family and friends, I dealt with having a baby, I hid this stupid mark on my arm, I even-"

"What are you babbling about a baby for?" Draco cut in, eyes wide as saucers. "Ginny, you're not pregnant, are you?"

-_past-post Draco_-

"So?" Ginny asked from her seat on the couch in front of the fireplace. Her fingernails tapped against the end table helplessly as she looked at Hermione, fear in her eyes. "Am I?" Ginny choked out.

Hermione looked at Ginny and frowned. "I really don't know how you could let this happen, Ginny. I mean, what possessed you to sleep with _Draco Malfoy_? His father is a Death Eater, for heaven's sake. One of the biggest supporters of Voldemort."

"Is that a yes or a no, Hermione?" Ginny drastically asked.

Hermione shook her head slowly. "No you're not pregnant, Ginny. But, what if you were, then what would you do?"

"Oh, thank **GOD**," Ginny cried, slumping down into the couch. "It must have been what I ate." Ginny made a funny look and glanced down at her stomach, "Speaking of what I ate, I haven't eaten in forever and I'm starved. They serve breakfast this early, don't they?"

"Ginny, you're not listening to me," Hermione complained. "I mean, what if Draco got killed in a huge battle and you were left with a child you had to raise by yourself? A child whose father's name would be cursed forever?"

Ginny looked at the clock. "Geez, is it already nine? Then it's not early at all. Everyone else is at breakfast already." Ginny stood up and pulled a sweater on over her pajamas top. "Say, why weren't you downstairs at breakfast, Hermione?"

Hermione fumbled with the button on her sweater. "I had to finish my Potions essay. But that doesn't matter. Have you really thought about the effects of your relationship with Malfoy?"

Ginny snorted to herself as she headed for the portrait of the Fat Lady. "I wouldn't really call it a 'relationship' Hermione. For it to be an actual relationship, the two in the relationship would need to communicate with each other. And Draco and I don't do that. We have sex, then he storms off, and then he comes back later."

"And you don't feel used at all? Like a Malfoy sex toy or anything?" Hermione asked as they walked down the hall to the Great Hall. "Why do you even have this 'thing' with him anyways? What's so wrong with Dean?"

Ginny smiled, her eyes twinkling, "Draco is such an amazing kisser- you wouldn't even believe it, Hermione. And some of the things he can do in bed, it would blow your mind." Ginny giggled, "It sure as hell blew mine."

As they sat down at the Gryffindor table, Ginny slid in next to Dean and Hermione sat down next to Ron, straight across at Ginny. "Are you bragging about me?" Dean asked Ginny, kissing her cheek before going back to his breakfast.

"Yeah… something like that Dean," Ginny shook her head to herself and dug into her plate with filled itself magically.

-_present_-

Ginny was taken back by his question. She'd forgotten that she hadn't told him about the little baby scare. "Ginny?" he asked again, and she could tell he was going to go crazy. Like she had while she waited for Hermione to process the results. He was as horrified by the idea as she was. Actually, when she thought about it, he looked so terrified, she swore he looked like he was going to piss in his pants.

"No, I'm not," she whispered. "I… I thought I was for a little bit. But Hermione helped me with a pregnancy test, and I'm not." Ginny paused as another bad thought ran through her mind, "At least not the last time I checked."

Draco's shoulders relaxed visibly. "So tell me again that you aren't pregnant."

Ginny shook her head. Draco pulled her to him, surprising Ginny. She slowly wrapped her arms around his neck. It felt so odd to just touch him without feeling the usual lust for him. Sure, it was there, but she didn't want to hop his bones. At least not that exact moment. And he had pulled her to him, which he never did unless they were already in the process of making out. "I'm not a hypocrite," Ginny whispered and Draco laughed against her hair. He actually laughed freely. Ginny felt a very rare emotion swell inside her belly, and in her heart. "I do love you," she whispered. "I think I always have."

Draco nodded and brought her lips to his slowly. She savored the taste of his lips just touching her until he pushed them further.

-_past-post Draco_-

Ginny was polishing off her plate of eggs and bacon when a screech filled the hallway outside the Great Hall. "DRACO!" Pansy screamed. She came stumbling through the double door backwards, falling on her bum. Many of the other students in the Great Hall began to snicker and laugh, but Pansy didn't even seem to notice. "He was just there-" she pointed a shaking finger at the hallway. "And now he's gone. He's just gone!" she screamed.

Ginny dropped her fork without thinking and Dean turned to face her, giving her a questioning look. Her head shook slightly, and everyone at the table seemed to notice this time. Ron and Harry both asked her if she was alright. And then Ginny witnessed what she never thought would happen, even though at the time she felt as if she was looking down at herself and her friends.

Hermione told Harry and Ron about why she was so shaken up. She told them _everything_. And then Dean finally understood everything too.

-_present_-

"Uh…" Ginny grunted, her back arching off the bed. He slipped a damp hand under her spine, pulling her body flush against his. She loved the feel of his skin against hers, their sweat mixing together just like the two opposite colors of their hair. "How… does it… feeeeeel?" Ginny asked right as he slid slowly into her.

"How does what feel?" he panted, letting his head drop down onto the pillow next to hers. He forgot all about rhythm or technique and began to just slam into her as hard as he could.

"Having sex in…" Ginny moaned loudly, "…your bed at home."

"Mmm…" Draco murmured against her ear. He flattened his hand onto the mattress under her back and carefully lowered her back down onto the bed.

Ginny grinned and pushed his hair out of his face, "We should try this in my bed next," she murmured against the side of his head.

Draco pulled his head up slowly to look straight into her eyes. He smirked evilly before lowering his mouth to capture hers. Ginny closed her eyes to enjoy the feeling. As soon as his tongue touched hers, she felt a quick, cold breeze and then the room was even warmer than before.

Draco pulled back from her slowly and suddenly the sheets under her weren't so comfortable anymore. When Ginny opened her eyes, she saw a poster of Ron's favorite Quidditch team on the ceiling. Ginny gasped, shoving Draco to the side and sitting up, pulling the covers with her. "You Apparated us to my _house_?" Ginny asked him in a daze, turning her head slowly to face him.

"Well," Draco smirked, "you did say, Miss Weasley, that we needed to try it in your bed next. So here we are."

Ginny shook her head slowly, out of utter disbelief, "I guess I did say that, didn't I?" She grabbed Draco's foreman and pulled him back down onto her. "You might want to lock the door first. Oh yeah, and cover up that poster or something, I don't want a bunch of ugly Quidditch players watching us while we do it."

Draco muttered something under his breath and flicked his wrist in the general direction of the bedroom door. Ginny heard the lock slid into place. Draco looked around the room for a moment and Ginny stared up at him, running her fingers slowly through his damp hair. "I never expected you to be such a girly girl," Draco commented, talking about all of the stuffed animals she had and the pink tint to her walls.

Ginny shrugged, pulling his head down closer to hers. "You didn't do anything about the poster," she whispered, running her cold foot up the side of his leg.

Draco shut his eyes for a second and then opened them back up, "I'm not going to freeze the poster. I think it's kind of kinky, having the Cannons watch me have sex with my girlfriend. And kinky things turn my on."

The kinky comments didn't even make it to Ginny's head. Because he had called her his girlfriend. Ginny Weasley was Draco Malfoy's girlfriend. And Ginny bet that Draco didn't even realize that he had said it. "Just do it slow," Ginny whispered, wrapping her legs around his and bringing his body right down on hers. "Guys like it fast and hard in their places. But girls like it slow and sexy. It fits the room," she wrinkled up her nose and grinned.

Draco rested his hands on her hips, "Slow and sexy?" he asked.

Ginny nodded, "Yeah, slow and sexy," she repeated slowly for him, like he was a little kid. So, Draco complied with her wish. Ginny bit her lip and her grip tightened on his shoulders.

True to his unspoken promise, Draco started off extremely slow. But, the longer he went slow, the more heat that built inside and begged to be released. So, he pace began to steadily increase. Ginny bit back a moan and held his shoulders even tighter. "Draco, slow down," she begged. She loved what he was doing to her now, but she was so afraid that she would climax and the sound would make her parents come check on them.

"Draco, slow-"

"Shut up, Gin," he hissed against her ear and Ginny instantly stopped. She knew when she shouldn't step over the boundary line and this was one of those times. Ginny buried her head into his shoulder, finding that freckle she loved so much and deciding to stare at it. As he pulled in and out faster and faster, Ginny felt helpless against everything.

And she knew he was going to come because she was ready to explode. But they always waited for each other. Ginny tightened the muscles in her thighs to give him a little hint and Draco took it. With one last thrust, he buried his head against her hair and they both let out small cries of pleasure. As he Apparated them back to his bedroom, Draco opened his eyes. "I love you," he told her, looking into her fiery red hair.

El Fin

:P


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